RWBY: Absolution
by RockinGamer
Summary: PERMANENT HIATUS: After the devastation and loss of the battle of Beacon, RNJR has come to Mistral looking for help, which they find in a professor at Haven. But other forces are at play and this professor has a bit of a past. Will they be able to save Remnant or will the kingdoms fall?
1. The Lead

**I know, it's crazy, but I'm alive! And I missed you guys a lot! I'll talk more at the bottom but one quick thing:**

 **This takes place two months after the end of Volume 3. Please, for the love of all that is good, please review or let me know how shit or not shit it is!**

* * *

Chapter 1

"Thank goodness we're finally in town… I could really use a wash," Ruby said.

"You could use a bath? Try lying next to Ren for multiple nights, he reeks!" Nora retorted with a boisterous laugh, Ren looking at her with annoyance but a smile. The four of them and Qrow Branwen had been walking to Mistral for the past two months, hoping to track down what Qrow kept calling the best lead they had but never detailing what exactly it was.

"Yeah, I wanted to ask, uh, Mr. Brawnen-"

"For the last time Jaune, you can just call me Qrow," the elder Huntsman said to the blonde with a pat on the back.

"Right, sorry, Qrow, what are we doing in this part of Mistral?" Jaune asked. After entering the kingdom of Mistral Qrow had lead them not to a hotel, Haven Academy or a residence. Instead he had lead them down to a not-so-friendly part of the capital: crowded, discarded buildings competed for land space where a few shady characters lurked around and different low-end businesses waited to screw over a customer.

"I need some help with a lead and I know just the guy to help."

"I thought that's why we came along uncle Qrow?"

"Partially. But he's a professor at Haven that I've known for a few years," he said as they trudged along until Qrow stopped and looked up, grinning to himself, "Perfect."

The four young Hunters looked up and saw a sign that read 'The Hidden Goblet'.

"A bar?" Ren asked.

"Yeah, here's hoping-" was all Qrow could say before a body was flung through a window onto its stomach on the sidewalk. The five looked in curiosity at the figure as it groaned, rolled over and started to get up. The man, who looked to be in his mid-20's, wore black boots, slacks and matching vest, a buttoned up dark blue shirt underneath, a white tie and a white cord necklace that hung loosely on him. Hanging from it was a silver locket that had a symbol etched into it: an anchor with a sword going through it horizontally. He looked up with his light green eyes, his shoulder length hair sashaying with his movements, and grinned at who he saw.

"Qrow Branwen, I'll be damned. Been a year hasn't it?"

"Damn right it has Acadian Zaffre, what have you gotten yourself into?" Qrow asked with a matching grin, the other four looking at the two in utter confusion.

"Ah, you know, same old same old, they think I gypped their money from a game of pool," he said with a slightly deep, confident voice along with a shrug, "Gonna talk more in a minute, I have to teach these pricks a lesson."

Acadian climbed back in through the window while the five walked through the front door and watched as the Hunter went to work on a group of six. Acadian ducked one punch, turned and drove his elbow up into a man's jaw, easily breaking it. He quickly whipped around, caught a straight kick and brought his fist down onto the knee, easily breaking it. As the woman screamed in pain, he picked her up and threw her into another attack, causing the two to fall over a table. Another charged in, fist raised and was met with a knee to his gut, flipping him onto the ground. Acadian quickly grabbed a chair and smashed it onto another's head, knocking him out instantly, leaving a lone female attacker with the six-foot-one Hunter. She grinned and pulled out two knives, twirling them around her hands.

"You're gonna cut up real good boy."

"Doubt it," Acadian said as he turned to the group, "Sword's over there on the ground, would one of you mind getting it please?"

"Mind asking how you lost Solstice?" Qrow asked as he ran to the sword.

"I'll tell you later," he replied, suddenly throwing a bottle at the woman, shattering it near her feet, which stopped her in her tracks. Qrow grabbed and chucked it to Acadian, who grabbed the handle and twirled the blade in his hand. The blade in question was a standard sword at certain part: it had a black, smooth handle, silver pommel with the same symbol etched onto it that was on the locket and a silver blade with a beveled groove on both sides that was dyed black. What made the blade unique was the hilt: instead of the blade meeting at a traditional hilt, the hilt on Solstice was circular with two traditional flat ends sticking out and what seemed like a motorcycle break lever was hanging down off the right end near Acadian's fingers, much like a cutlass hilt. He grinned at the woman, who looked at him with fear, a bigger grin coming to Acadian's face.

"Run," he said and she immediately took off, jumping through the broken window and taking off into the city. He chuckled and slid the blade into two black leather loops that were stitched into his vest like belt loops. He walked to the bar and was joined by the five.

"Sorry about the mess Sergei, just add it to my tab."

"Of course Acadian," the barkeep said, shaking his head and laying out drinks for everyone.

"Still didn't answer my question."

"So the bastards thought that I was using a semblance to get the balls to fall my way when I clearly wasn't it, I'm just a helluva good shot."

"Uh-huh."

"Whose side are you on Qrow?"

"Of course yours," he said with a mocking voice, Acadian rolling his eyes at the attitude.

"Anyway, I placed my sword down to help me out, it's hard as hell to play pool with a nearly two-foot sword on your back, you know?"

"No, none of us do."

"Well shit," Acadian said, easily downing his drink.

"I gotta say, that was awesome," Jaune said with a smile to the man, who nodded at the blonde.

"Thank kid, appreciate it…" Acadian said, letting the words float until he shook his head, "Jeez I'm rude as hell, Acadian Zaffre, who are you four?" he asked, extending his hand out. He was quickly introduced to Ruby, Jaune, Nora and Ren and could tell that something was different with these four.

"So, how did you guys get out of Vale? Heard and saw it was practically a warzone."

"Glynda and James are working on fixing it," Qrow said, Acadian's eyebrows flinching at the mention of General Ironwood, "I need your help. Hell, all of us do."

"We do?" Ren asked.

"Oh yeah," Qrow said with a nod, leaving Acadian with a confused look until Nora got his attention.

"Think you can teach us to break bones like that?" she asked with a wicked grin that the professor matched. While Acadian was at first not keen on this idea, he had a feeling that this meeting was going to change a lot of things.

* * *

 **Right, so hello again guys. I know, this is outta the blue but I needed to do something that would pep me up. I got finals next week and I have had a horrible week so I thought, 'Hell, I wanted to write this idea for a while, so why not?' and that is what I've done the past three days. So, a couple of house-cleaning/updating:**

 **1\. Discerning Truth is dead, buried and deleted. Auron's tale was supposed to be part of a collab that horribly fell apart and looking back on it I shouldn't have even written it. I liked the first person aspect of it, but still, should've just held my fingers at bay.**

 **2\. This will be my final fanfiction. How long will it be? No idea.**

 **3\. When will I update this? Mainly aiming for once a week up to three times a week. We'll see.**

 **4\. Also doing something new in this one: instead of just focusing on the heroes, it will switch around to other characters and their situations. Don't worry, it will be clearly labeled that it's with someone else.**

 **5\. I love how Crusaders of Remnant is still getting favs and all that. Thank you so much for that, I appreciate that so much. I realize that that is probably the best I've written and I hope that I can beat it with Absolution.**

 **6\. I honestly do hope you guys give me a bunch of reviews. I'm getting into my post-university career real soon, so I need to improve on my story telling, especially since I'm trying to get into screenwriting. So, I ask you guys, rip it apart, point out things that can be done better, all that jazz. I'll appreciate it greatly.**

 **Right, that should be everything. I know this is all sudden but I really hope you guys like this and where it goes. I'm already on Chapter 4 and I just hope you guys will like the ride I'm ready to take you guys on. Enjoy it guys!**

 **-Zach P, aka RockinGamer**


	2. Dead End

Chapter 2

"Sorry for the office being a mess, but, much like my apartment, I haven't had visitors in recent weeks."

"How come?" Jaune asked.

"Some students are still stuck in Vale and the Academy's been shut down for a couple of weeks because of the attack," Acadian said with a bit of a grim tone. The five looked at him then at the office, which was illuminated thanks to a switch that Acadian hit immediately after opening the door. The dark green carpet complemented not only the mahogany desk on which a computer rested but the shelving as well, which housed various awards, books and a stand for Solstice, which he put it on. He sat down in the nice leather chair at his desk and invited anyone to sit in the two chairs in front of him.

"Coffee or tea?"

"Tea sounds fantastic," Ren said, taking a seat with Jaune.

"It would if I had asked before I got comfortable," Acadian grumbled, getting a few chuckles.

"I got it Acadian," Qrow said as he got up and walked over to a little table with a kettle already full of water.

"Mighty appreciative of that."

"What do you teach her Professor Zaffre?" Ruby asked as she looked over the books on his shelves.

"Combat. I did a mission here and there for a few years then moved on to teaching so that the next generation could be ready. I have a question for you guys: do you know what happened to Pyrrha Nikos? I never got to teach her but I got to watch her fight and man, she was unbelievable."

Acadian said all of this with a smile that quickly changed as he saw the faces of the four students change quickly, confusing him until it dawned on him.

"Oh don't tell me…"

"That's why we came Acadian, that's what I need you for," Qrow said in a solemn tone after handing Ren a cup of tea. He walked over to Acadian and handed him three manila folders, "Anything you know on those three?"

"And if you knew anything else on a thief named Roman Torchwick, that might help too," Ruby quipped. She was now looking through one of the two windows in the office that overlooked the capital city. Acadian nodded, looked at the pictures in the folders, read over the information and then threw all three on the desk.

"Hate to say it but it seems like I'm no use to you guys. Those three never came through these halls, I know nothing about them."

All five looked at Acadian in shock, who looked around at all of them without blinking, holding his gaze. This continued on for only a few moments until Ruby zoomed over to Acadian, shocking him as she looked down at him.

"Check the computer and all the records you guys have. They _have_ to be in there."

"No they don't Ms. Rose because they won't be in there," Acadian shot back, looking her over, not appreciating the sudden, somewhat threatening tone.

"Guys-"

"They killed our friend! We need to know who they are!" Ruby yelled, cutting off Ren who sighed as she yelled. Acadian stood up, grabbed Ruby's arm and slightly pushed her into the chair, spinning it so that she was facing the computer screen.

"You find them," Acadian said in a deadpanned tone, moving to one of his bookshelves as Jaune moved over to Ruby to help her look for the names in the folders. Qrow moved to Acadian and got close to him so only Acadian could hear him.

"Don't manhandle my niece like tha-"

"Don't come into my office with peace and threaten war," Acadian whispered to Qrow. The two held a look for a few seconds, neither flinching.

"Is this all you needed me for? You could've just called me when you got in the city."

"How? The CCT is still down in Vale idiot."

"Fine, left a message for me here. Don't make me look like the bad guy here Qrow. What else do you need me for? There's no way that's your only lead."

Before the elder Hunter could answer they both looked after hearing sighs of irritation. The four young Hunters were all looking at the computer screen, pouring over the names, looking for any clue, anything that could point them in the right direction.

"Nothing on Cinder, Mercury or Emerald?" Qrow asked. Jaune looked at him then down at the desk, shaking his head.

"Told you," Acadian whispered so only Qrow could hear, "They would've had to have taken my combat class. I may have shit memory for a 24-year-old, but I would've remembered them."

"Thanks for the help Acadian," Qrow said, walking over to the four.

"Why them?" Acadian asked loudly, "What did they do?"

"They caused all the destruction at Vale and Beacon," Ren answered quietly, confusing the professor.

"Last I checked that was Atlas robo-"

"It was these three," Nora said, "Which is why I think Ruby asked for info on… what was his name?"

"Torchwick," she replied sullenly, "I think he was helping them."

"All I know is that he's a thief. So, what made you guys come to me about those three?"

"They said they came from Haven, that's why I thought you would know," Qrow said as Jaune looked over the sparse information in the files. Acadian poured himself a cup of tea, took a sip and looked to Qrow and knew the look that he was getting from him. A look that meant he would be in it for the long haul, that he would be needed as more than just a contact or a lead.

"How about you kids take a night to yourself, hm?" Acadian asked, the four looking at him, "My place is 10 blocks away. We can all crash there and try and figure things out; you guys can enlighten me on everything and then I'll see how I can help, okay?" he said with what he was hoping was a genuine smile.

"Sorry for being rude earlier, I'm not used to kids yelling at me," he said with a chuckle. Thankfully he got genuine smiles and a few chuckles in return from the young Hunters, easing his mind as he finished his tea and they prepared to head out.

* * *

The black figure looked around her dim, purple domain then at the moon with her red eyes. Black veins stained her snow-white skin, her body showing calm while her mind started to irritate as she waited patiently until she felt the presence of the three.

"It took you three long enough," she bellowed in a cruel yet smooth tone. A man clad in red and white stepped forward then kneeled.

"Sorry ma'am, such short notice left us a bit unprepared," he said loudly in a light voice as his two companions, a man and a woman, copied his motions.

"Stand," she said and descended the long flight of steps down to them, the three doing as she ordered.

"What is the problem?" the leader asked, putting his arms behind his back.

"Your old teammate is getting involved in a very dangerous game," she said, sliding one of her white fingers across his chest, sending a slight shiver through his body.

"Why?"

"They believe he will help. Before you go after them however, I need you three for something else. There are two in Vale that aided Cinder… bring them to me."

"What do you need them for? We can take care of him and his friends no problem," the female said, earning a glare from the mysterious woman.

"I wish to recruit… do not test me child," she responded, her red eyes burrowing into the mind of the female.

"Yes Ms. Salem, I apologize," she responded, making sure not to let her fear slip into her voice.

"Go," Salem said, sending the three off through a red portal she conjured. They left at once without a word, leaving the Maiden alone in her domain again, a smirk coming across her face.

"What are you trying to set in motion Ozpin?" she asked.

* * *

 **Just wanted to say thank you guys so much for all the favs and follows, I honestly did not expect so many for just the first chapter (and I know some are thinking 'Dude, you only got like 7 of each.' but that's a huge deal to me. Thank you guys for that, you wouldn't believe how much of a confidence boost that is. I know these first two chapters have been short, but I promise that the rest will not be, I really wanted these to just be the setup and yes, they could've been together but I decided 'fuck it, split'em up. Hope you guys enjoyed and I'll see you soon with Chapter 3! Please review and if you like it a lot fav and follow!**


	3. The Real Reason

Chapter 3

The six had walked to Acadian's house rather quickly with the sun setting on their backs, hoping to beat out the usual ruffians that came out at night. They got in and the five got to admire the extravagance of the place.

"How do you afford a place like this?" Qrow asked.

"Funny story actually: Haven bought the house as a place for parents visiting. Rarely got used though, so it became a place for small parties. I came along and needed a place, found it and the administration said 'Pay a monthly fee and no problems'. Nice place, have had a few professors over before," he said, taking his vest off and flinging it onto the couch before quickly grabbing it again and flinging it over his shoulder, "Sorry, force of habit."

The wooden floors shined brightly thanks to the overhead light fixtures that illuminated every inch of the house. The house had an open floor plan and was accompanied with various shades of light grey, white and dark blue on the walls. Paintings adorned the walls and added a visual pop along with the white couch that was situated in front of a large TV. To the right of the TV were three rooms, two of which were bedrooms that followed the paint scheme of the house and had a bed and small bathroom each, the other room being a large bathroom. To the left of the TV was the kitchen that was filled with up-to-date appliances that were packed full and just to the left of the kitchen was a traditional table and dining room chairs. It also had a small wooden deck, opening up to the city center with two chairs and a tiny table to place drinks. The second floor was open and had a simple bed, nightstand, dresser, bookcase and a small, basic training area. Just past the front door was another door that lead to a basement that had a much larger training arena.

"Right, so, two bedrooms, whoever wants them can claim them. Downstairs is a training room, which you can use anytime. Upstairs is mine. Fridge is open to anyone. Please don't destroy anything," Acadian said before quickly running upstairs and throwing his vest on his bed, returning downstairs as everyone kept looking around.

"You updated it... looks nice," Qrow said, Acadian nodding in approval as he sat on the couch, flipping his boots off and sighing in relaxation. He was quickly joined by the four teenagers who he could tell were a bit awkward to all of this. He looked at the four of them and ran a hand through his hair.

"So… mind if I ask what happened to Ms. Nikos?"

"She… she was killed by Cinder," Ruby answered quietly, everyone looking down. Acadian nodded his head and sighed.

"Got it. Sorry, I just… I never thought… her of all people, you know? Real shame. This kingdom will be in mourning when the news spreads. How did you guys know her?"

"She was our teammate," Nora said, tears coming to her eyes. Qrow gripped Acadian's shoulder and leaned down.

"We need to talk," he whispered into his ear.

"Grab some food and drink, turn on whatever. Qrow and I will be back," Acadian said to the four, getting off the couch, grabbing a couple of beers from the fridge and walking with Qrow to the balcony. They each popped the caps off their beers and took a few sips in silence before Acadian spoke.

"Sorry for all the prying, I guess I'm just naturally curious."

"It's fine Acadian," Qrow said, patting the Hunter on the shoulder before he leaned on the railing and looked at the city while Acadian sat on one of the chairs. They continued in silence until Qrow turned to face him.

"I need you for a lot more than information."

"Oh I know, I was just waiting on you," Acadian replied with a smirk that made Qrow roll his eyes.

"Look, they really want to find out who those three are and who pulled the trigger on what happened in Vale."

"How secure is Vale right now?"

"Just the capital city," Qrow said, pausing to take a swig of beer, "Glynda and James have done their best to keep the Grimm at bay. They have a whole bunch of teenage Hunters with them and a few human and robot soldiers. They're hoping that within the next few months they can push to Beacon and free it."

"Surprised General Ironwood is actually helping. His lazy ass usually just blames others."

"He's a changed man Acadian."

"I don't give a damn Qrow, you know that," Acadian replied, getting up and standing next to Qrow, replacing Qrow as the admirer of the city, "I still hold by what I told you three years ago."

"What?"

"Next time I see him I'm going for his throat," he replied, his friends chuckling and finishing off his beer. They stood in silence, Acadian finishing his beer until turning to Qrow.

"So, Pyrrha was on…?"

"A team with Nora, Jaune and Ren. Cinder killed her; from what Ruby told me, she was shot with an arrow and then incinerated."

"Damn… wait, wait, how did Cinder do that? No one has that power…"

"Yeah, she got her powers."

"Jeez… And here I was thinking that the Maidens were a bunch of fairytale bullshit… what's the plan?"

"I need to see if I can find Ozpin and-"

"Wait! What happened to Ozpin?!"

"Oh right," Qrow said, making Acadian groan, "Hey, bad memory, okay? He and Cinder got into a brawl… All I found was this," he said, pulling out Ozpin's cane from behind him, "I don't know if he is alive or dead, but I know that I need to keep his work going. Which means I need to locate the other two Maidens and make sure they're safe."

"So where do I fit into all this?"

"Help them, counsel them, be their shoulder to cry on, train them."

"What about Ruby? Her friends at Signal?"

"Signal?" Qrow asked, chuckling, "Man, I really haven't talked to you in a while. She was at Beacon."

"Shit, that good huh?"

"Gets it from her uncle," Qrow responded, getting a light punch to his shoulder, "Anyway, her team… they've been split up. Her half-sister, Yang, lost her arm in a fight and is still on Patch. From what Ruby told me, their friend Blake is in Vale somewhere, looking for one of the heads of the White Fang. Then there's the last one…"

"What's the problem?"

"Her last teammate is at home in Atlas, her name is Weiss… Weiss Schnee."

"Hell no Qrow," Acadian said, immediately walking to the doors before being stopped by the elder Huntsmen.

"Acadian, you need to put aside your petty shit right now."

"Petty shit?! Qrow, Ironwood fucked my whole life over! The Schnees hate me! What makes you think I can go to the Schnee manor?!"

"Calm down okay? Breathe," Qrow said, Acadian looking at him, closing his eyes and breathing out in frustration, "You'll figure it out. I need you to get Ruby's team back together, that's your priority. And when you do head out, go to Atlas first: I called in a few favors and the kingdom should be working on a special something for Yang."

"I don't like this Qrow."

"Put your damn emotions aside Acadian. We are at war with someone… someone who… I'll tell you later, but I need that team together. They are the hope we need."

At this point Qrow had both of his hands resting on Acadian's shoulders, who looked at him and nodded his head. Qrow patted them and nodded with his friend.

"Thank you."

"When do I move to get her team and what are you going to do?"

"I need to do some housekeeping and check on a few things I've heard myself. You move for her team when you feel it is best. All of them have a lot of baggage like you Acadian, keep that in mind."

The two left the balcony and were chatting with each other but Acadian snapped to attention at what was in Ruby's hand.

"Get your damn hands off that, kid!"

"Ah! Sorry!" she said, nearly dropping the assault rifle that Acadian took from her, looking at her with annoyance, her whole body language shifting to show embarrassment. Qrow tapped his shoulder and gave him a look that he knew all to well. Acadian sighed at the look as he unloaded the rifle and handed it back to Ruby.

"Just please don't hit anything with it," he said with a smile to her, which she returned.

"How do you have an Atlas Army assault rifle?" Jaune asked.

"I was in the Atlas military academy."

"Wait what?! And you're a Hunter?! Oh that's awesome!" Nora exclaimed, making Acadian laugh.

"I wouldn't say awesome, but it was something," he said, joining the four as Qrow left out the front door quietly, "See, along with the Huntsmen Academy they have a military academy as well."

"They let you join both?" Nora asked.

"Yup, about 40 Hunters do it every year."

"I thought Atlas only used robotic soldiers?" Ren asked.

"They've been trying to do that for a while now but you always need human ingenuity. Besides, from the videos I saw from Vale, it seems like that kind of thinking backfired horribly on Atlas."

"You still haven't answered how you have an Atlas assault rifle."

"Ah I stole it from them."

"Wait how?" Ruby asked, a smile spreading on Acadian's face.

"Good question."

Acadian told the tale of how he snuck out the assault rifle and fielded questions from the four for the rest of the night and showed them a few things, such as how quickly he could field strip his rifle and the ammunition it used. He learned a lot about them, such as Ruby's favorite foods, Jaune's sisters and Nora's love for Magnhild along with Ruby's for Crescent Rose.

"Oh! That reminds me," Ruby started, "Why call it Solstice?"

"What, my weapon? Just sounded cool," Acadian answered with a shrug as he looked at a clock and yawned, "Alright, come on, bedtime pipsqueaks."

"Who are you calling a pipsqueak?" Jaune asked, his forehead getting flicked by Acadian.

"I am blondie. You guys have been traveling for nearly two months, enjoy the comfy beds. Have a good night," Acadian said with a smile, leaving the four to themselves as he walked upstairs to his bed, which he crashed upon and looked at the nightstand to a photo. In the photo, it was him with a female soldier, both having wicked smiles after he had just won a game at the carnival. He smiled at the picture and drifted off to sleep with those memories in his head.

* * *

"I really hope he can help us," Ren said quietly, the four moving their bags around.

"Same here, but if my Uncle Qrow trusts him, I have no worries," Ruby said with a smile.

"I just want it to be morning, I want to get to the bottom of this," Nora said, getting a nod from Ren and the others.

"Man I hate being called blondie," Jaune grumbled, getting quieted giggles as Ruby took one room, Ren and Nora the other and Jaune the couch.

* * *

Yang had barely moved in two months and she hated it. She hated being stuck in the house as Ruby and their friends left to find out what happened. She hated not being there for her sister but she just couldn't get over what happened. The arm injury didn't necessarily bother her: she never expected such a grave injury at her age but knew that it was the price to pay for being a Huntress. In reality, it was the fact that Blake left, _again_. She was furious with her teammate because Yang had been practically abandoned even after jumping in to save her. Blake had thought Yang was crazy after the fight with Mercury, had left her with their friends… and why did it bother Yang so badly? It wasn't just the fact that Blake was her teammate, the blonde knew that it was something else...

But before she could keep thinking on it, she heard a familiar knocking on the door.

"Come in," she said in a sad tone. Her father Taiyang walked in with a tray of food and sat it in front of her.

"Hey pumpkin, how are you doing?" he asked in his usual upbeat attitude, planting a kiss on her forehead.

"I'm doing okay dad."

"Good. Make sure to eat up and to get around and stretch, don't want you to become one with the blankets now," he said with a small smile that Yang reciprocated. Her smile changed as she looked past her father to the figure in the doorway.

"Uncle Qrow?" she asked and Taiyang whipped around instantly.

"Qrow?... Where the hell is my daughter?!" Taiyang said in anger, moving towards his teammate, who kept his cool attitude and raised his hands to stop his friend.

"Whoa, calm down Ty, she's safe. She and her friends are with an associate of mine."

"Who?"

"A professor I know at Haven. Calm down, she's fine."

"I'll be calm when she's here and not running around out there!"

"Dad, Ruby can take care of herself," Yang said. Taiyang turned and looked down at his eldest daughter. Just as he was about to say something he stopped himself and sighed.

"I know she can… Are you sure your friend will keep her safe?"

"Oh yeah, he will. How're you doing Yang?"

"Fine," she said with a small smile to Qrow that he returned, "How's the outside world?"

"Crap as usual. Don't worry, Ruby and your friends will be here in the next couple of months, I promise."

"How do you know?"

"Oh I know," he said with a grin that left the other two perplexed, "I know."

* * *

 **Right, so, now we get things going. Again, want to thank you guys for the love this is getting already, I'm honestly shocked at it and appreciate it greatly. Also, shout-out to tyson113 and callofduty1944 for the reviews! Sorry I didn't post that in the second chapter, I posted that at like 2 AM and was tired as hell, my bad. Chapter 4 isn't quite done yet, so it will be a minute, but good news is that this might be close to 25 chapters long, we will see. Hope you guys liked this chapter and I hope to be back soon with Chapter 4! Please review and if you really dig it fav or follow! Keep writing and reading guys!**


	4. Training and Isolation

Chapter 4

Acadian woke from a dream he had had before, him in the carnival chasing after his lost love, to the sound of his alarm clock blaring. He groaned and stared at the clock, thinking about all the ways he wanted to destroy it, but he simply hit the off button on the top and rolled over. Acadian always had to get up early for his classes and had been making sure he kept the routine up for when the Academy re-opened. He got up, stretched and changed into his workout clothes, wanting to forget the dream he had with a vigorous training regimen. Right as he was about to punch the sand bag he had 20 feet away from his bed, he realized he might wake the young Hunters up, thus he decided to go downstairs and into the basement. When he opened the door to it, he was shocked to hear someone in their already training; he walked in and saw that it was Jaune training with his sword and shield, swinging at different mannequins that encircled him.

"Shocked you're up so early Mr. Arc," he said, hands taped and Solstice in his hand. Jaune stopped and turned to him, looking surprised. Both men were wearing workout shorts and t-shirts, each showing off their somewhat muscular builds.

"Oh, sorry Professor-"

"Please don't call me professor in my own house," he said with a smile, "It's just Acadian or if you want Mr. Zaffre."

"Sorry Mr.… Acadian."

"There we go and why apologize?"

"I thought I woke you up."

"Hell no, I always get up this early. I need to so I can make it to my class on time but it also got drilled into me at the military academy… man you never get to sleep in the army," he said with a smile as he walked to Jaune and looked at the mannequins, "Any reason you're not hitting them?"

"I didn't know there were extras, I didn't want to damage anything."

"Damn you are a nice kid," Acadian said, laughing to himself, "Go ahead and fuck them up, I got plenty."

Jaune nodded and began his training again, going harder and digging his blade into the unarmed mannequins. Acadian had turned to a punching bag and started to land blows but stopped to observe Jaune, something Acadian couldn't help nowadays: if he wasn't in combat, he was always observing. Observing to see if he could help someone improve or maybe gain a few small tricks or moves to make himself better.

"Stop," he said to Jaune, who did immediately and turned to him, "Move your right foot 4 inches in. It's too wide. You're gonna give your opponents the chance to trip you and throw you off your rhythm. The moment they do, you may as well fall on your own blade."

"Oh… Pyrrha taught me to have my legs a bit further apart to move easier because I'm a big guy."

"Which is true, but the way you fight, try scooting your legs in," he said and watched Jaune, stopping him when he moved it in far enough, "Now, stay still and close your eyes… remember where your feet are… your whole body placement… keep that ingrained in your mind so that at any time you can go right back to it."

Jaune stayed still for a few moments and took in Acadian's words, opening his eyes when he heard movement and watched Acadian outfit the mannequins with weapons.

"Am I gonna be fighting people soon?"

"To be frank Jaune, maybe… if three people caused Vale to fall and their ringleader is still out there, that means they're gonna have henchmen. From the stories she told last night it sounds like Ruby and her team has already fought a good amount of people, you and your team are gonna have to get that experience too."

"But we fought in the tournament-"

"That was one fight for you and Ren and two for Nora. You need a live weapons fight."

Acadian whistled a short tune while putting the weapons and armor on and then moved to a small console that was on the wall. Without a word to Jaune and still whistling the professor hit a button and turned a dial, causing the mannequins to start rotating swiftly. Jaune quickly threw his shield up to block a hit and surveyed his 'opponents'. He moved in, blocking a sword and mace before driving his blade into one of the mannequins, which stopped moving. Jaune easily downed another and with four left his confidence built until he saw an overhead strike and blocked with his shield, bringing him to his knees. Jaune pushed up and heard a blade hit another and saw Acadian down two of mannequins and then turn to him with a fire in his eyes as he moved forward.

"Wait, Acadian!" Jaune yelled as Acadian swung his blade, multiple strikes hitting Jaune's shield.

"This is what you have to expect Jaune!" he yelled back and continued his assault before ducking back, allowing Jaune to refocus on the mannequins. Jaune dispatched the last two and turned to focus on the professor, who readied his blade but turned his head to everyone else on the steps, looking at the two with concern.

"Ah perfect, everyone's here," Acadian said, setting his blade down on a shelf.

"For what? It's, like, seven AM," Ruby said, rubbing her eyes and yawning.

"Training. Jaune and I got started with weapon training but I realized something when I first saw you four: you need to learn to fight without weapons."

"In case for some reason we don't have them or they are taken from us," Ren said, nodding his head.

"Precisely. Observe," Acadian said, turning to Jaune and motioning for him to strike. Jaune hesitated, looking at Acadian with doubt until launching himself forward with an overhead strike. Acadian waited until the last minute, grabbed Jaune's hands and kneed him hard in the stomach. Jaune gasped at the sudden hit and felt his sword and shield be wrenched away from him, both being thrown on the ground by Acadian. Jaune was still doubled over in pain as Acadian closed the gap between the two and grabbed Jaune by the collar of his shirt. Right as Acadian was about to launch a flurry of attacks he was knocked 10 feet away, surprising him as he looked up to see the other three with fists at the ready.

"Oh this is gonna be interesting," he said, getting to his feet and running at them. He launched himself into the air, his right arm cocked back and ready to land a hit on Nora, who started to hold up her hands to block. Acadian felt good about the move but that confidence was completely destroyed; right as he was about to land the punch he found himself flat on his back, his neck, chin and back of his head throbbing in pain. He groaned and looked up at the ceiling before rolling quickly to his side and watching Ren lower his leg.

"How the-" was all he could get out before Ruby dashed over to him with her semblance and before Acadian could guard himself landed a kick to his ribs, skidding him further away from them. He stood up clinching his side but quickly got into a fighting stance as Ruby and Nora charged in. He waited until Nora leapt into the air while Ruby slid and Acadian couldn't help but grin as he side-stepped their attempted combination attack, grabbed Nora's leg and threw her onto Ruby. Both girls grunted in pain as Jaune was able to get back into the battle and swung wildly, his strike easily being parried and himself meeting the ground once again.

Ren and Acadian were the only two left standing and both felt nervous: Ren for facing a new opponent and Acadian because he had a feeling that Ren was hiding how good he was at hand to hand. Acadian moved in with a punch and was met with a solid block from Ren who quickly grabbed his arm, pivoted his body and moved his leg behind Acadian's knee, tripping him. Acadian grabbed his collar but was met with a punch to his nose, shocking the Huntsman, who laid his head back with his mouth agape and exhaled quickly and heavily.

"I hate you Ren," he said, rolling his eyes as he patted the young man's shoulder, "I would continue the fight but I know that you would beat my ass. Army training doesn't match… whatever you were taught."

"Good thinking, I would rather not continue to hurt you," Ren said with a smile, getting off Acadian and helping the Huntsman up.

"Okay, well, that means you can teach them."

"Wait what?"

"Yeah, teach them, I gotta make sure my nose is okay. Have fun Ren," Acadian said, patting his shoulder as he left Ren with his friends.

"Uh…"

"So, how do we do what you just did Ren?"

"Jaune, would you mind being my sparring partner?"

"Ah man, why me?"

* * *

After an hour of training and resting for Acadian, the five entered his office at Haven, the four waiting for Acadian as he turned his computer on and looked over emails. They waited patiently as the minutes ticked by yet Acadian still had not said a word to them.

"Acadian?" Ruby asked.

"Oh, sorry," he said, causing the four the chuckle, "Right, plan…"

"We need to figure out who got Cinder, Mercury and Emerald those uniforms," Nora said.

"Are there keycards that can be tracked?" Jaune asked.

"No all doors are open besides the janitorial stuff and if students want to leave their doors open. The Academy sees that as best so that we can all be open and friendly to each other."

"Have there been bad students in the past that would want to help them?" Ruby asked as she sat down in one of the chairs in the office.

"No. We've had bad students but none to that level."

"As far as you know, you never know," Ren added.

"Very true."

The five thought for a minute before Nora raised her head.

"Cameras. Security cameras. You guys have any?" she asked and Acadian got a grin on his face that the others matched.

"Brilliant thinking Ms. Valkyrie… the only problem however is the amount of footage to go through."

"Well we can skip the past four months… and during the tournament… so, right before students left," Ruby said, everyone nodding.

"I'll go get some extra Scrolls and tap into the footage. Let's get to work."

* * *

Weiss Schnee had become increasingly bored at her family's mansion in Atlas. Yes, she had been able to train whenever she wanted to and didn't have to worry about assignments. Yes, she had been able to get back to vocal training, sorely missing her days of singing. She even missed the familiar butlers and maids that worked around the clock and the various family members that had come by to the manor in the past couple of months.

What surprised the heiress the most however was a simple feeling: the void that was her social life and, more importantly, her teammates and her partner. At first she had not exactly hated her teammates but wanted the four years at Beacon to fly by. Now however she had changed: she liked the moments she had with them, even when Yang and Ruby acted like children. She had enjoyed the late nights studying with them, the growing understanding between her and Blake, the friendship between her and Yang and her partner. She simply could not stand Ruby Rose when they first met and now she saw her red-clad partner as a friend, a good friend.

A good friend and three friends in general that she sorely missed. With the CCT still down there was no way for her to get in contact with them. Her father didn't want to hear a word from her when he came to get her and she did as she was told. She knew that she had avoided him and ignored him for long enough and now he the ball was in his court and it was his serve. She knew he was going to try and swing her back to his side, to stay in Atlas and with the family company. It was only a matter of time.

This feeling of loss flowed through her in the morning as she sat at the family dining room table, a rather large table that was not just for meals but business planning. She sat alone with a simple breakfast of eggs, toast and orange juice in front of her. She sighed and closed her eyes as she began to eat, hoping that soon she would be able to do something to help reclaim Beacon or at the very least be with her friends again. The doors to the room opened and her father walked in with a butler by his side.

"- and make sure that makes it to my desk. I need to review those numbers," Mr. Schnee said in a deep, authoritative voice that was expected from a man that ran the world's biggest Dust mining and refinement company.

"Of course sir," the butler said, bowing his head and leaving the room as the elder Schnee approached his daughter.

"How are you this morning Weiss?" he asked.

"I'm fine father, you?" she asked, looking up at him with her best façade of a smile she could come up with.

"I'm good… Listen, I know you've been cooped up in the house for the past couple of months," he began, Weiss immediately thinking that this would be it, his power play to bring her into the family business, "So, I've invited someone over to be with you for a while."

"Really?!" Weiss asked excitedly, hoping it would be one of her friends, clearing her throat and gathering her composure, "Who?"

"She should be coming soon," he said, patting his daughter's shoulder and leaving her in confusion as she waited. Seconds turned to minutes and Weiss grew impatient, her voice and mannerisms showing it as she played with her eggs instead of eating them and barely touching her drink. She gasped in shock at the hand that suddenly yet gently gripped her shoulder. She followed the gloves hand up and looked into light-blue eyes that made Weiss smile.

"Hello Weiss."

"Hello Winter."

* * *

 **Yeah, holy shit, I'm alive. I'm so sorry for getting this out so late, my personal life has been... rather something these past couple of weeks. I just didn't have the drive to write and then a couple of days ago boom, this and five are done. I'm hoping to have five edited and ready to go in a couple of days and hopefully six will be right behind it. Again, I apologize for the inconvienence guys, I really am sorry. Hope everything is good on y'alls end and I hope to have you guys back here for chapter 5! Have an awesome week and please, as always, review and if you really dig it, fav and follow!**


	5. Coming Together

Chapter 5

Mercury felt shafted immediately after the fall of Beacon. Whatever in the world Cinder had been planning had failed and now Beacon was infested with Grimm and he nor Emerald could move around Vale freely because people knew who they were and that they were associated with her. He had been hoping that he and Emerald could play it off but when they went on the street they were arrested almost immediately. Thankfully Atlas troops didn't anticipate that one of the people they were arresting was a trained assassin and they went down with ease. And it didn't help at all that Emerald had been a moping mess.

Emerald had watched the chaos of the attack and had secretly started to feel horrible for everything. She, a simple street thief that had been on her own for nearly her entire life, had caused so much death and destruction. She watched people get eaten, Hunters fall… and for what? She was now stuck with her wise-cracking teammate that she could barely stand and both were practically starving.

She had returned to the rooftop that the two had been using as a base since the attack. A couple of tents, a small burner and some packages of food was what greeted her along with Mercury, who was looking at his Scroll while sitting on a milk crate.

"Anything on Cinder?"

"Nope."

"Did you get any food?"

"Nada."

"Merc what the hell are you looking at?" she asked in irritation, walking over then stopping when she heard yelling from the Scroll. She stood behind him and peeked over his shoulder, watching the video he had taken when the attack had happened. She watched for only a few seconds before shaking her head and walking away. He watched her and paused the video.

"'Sup with you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean why do you have a stick so far up your ass that-"

"What the hell are we doing here?!" she yelled before quickly covering her mouth, making the assassin look around to make sure no one came to investigate.

"Would you mind keeping your voice down just a little?"

"How come Cinder hasn't come back?"

"Aw, does Emerald miss her mommy?"

"Merc I'm serious! What happened? She was supposed to meet us-"

"Yeah, I remember the plan. And I have no idea what happened."

"We need to go find Cinder."

"What and go to Beacon? You can, I'd rather not have to go through all those Grimm."

"Come on Merc, we have to find her!"

"We don't have to do shit!"

Right as Emerald was about to draw her weapons and threaten the assassin a portal to her right opened. The red, swirling, portal with a black center stayed still for a few seconds, confusing the two associates until three figures came through. The leader was a man clad in white and red, two swords sheathed on his back. His brown-reddish hair shined in the light and his black eyes showed no emotion. To his left was a woman with a shield on her left arm, wearing black and green and with a jet black ponytail that stopped at the back of her neck. To the man's right was another man wearing various shades of purple and blue with a sword sheathed on his hip.

"Mercury and Emerald?" the man in front asked, his light voice cutting the tension their presence had created.

"Who the hell wants to know?" Mercury asked. Before anyone could answer the woman grabbed her shield and flung it, striking Mercury in the abdomen. Just as Emerald drew her guns the other man had unsheathed his sword and jutted it forward, the blade breaking apart and wrapping around Emerald's wrist. The snake sword tightened around Emerald's wrist and she looked terrified at it then at the owner of the blade.

"One move and I retract it, slicing that wrist wide open," he said in a deep voice. At this point the woman had run to Mercury and had restrained him.

"Who the fuck are you three?!" Mercury growled as the man in red moved close to Emerald.

"You'll understand soon enough… but for now, so you guys don't try and act out…" the man in red said and snapped his fingers. Before Mercury and Emerald could do anything the woman and the leader had injected both of them with a substance into their necks, very quickly knocking the two of them out.

"Well, that was easy," the man in purple said, carefully removing his blade from Emerald's wrist. He then picked her up and flung her unconscious body over his shoulder, his female teammate doing the same with Mercury's body.

"Agreed. Let's get going," their leader said, opening a portal that his teammates went through. Before their leader joined them however he stopped and turned, looking around the small camp, swearing that he was hearing things as he went through the portal. Unbeknownst to him, only 20 feet away crouching behind a chimney was a female cat faunus, looking petrified at what she had just witnessed.

Blake Belladonna had been stuck in Vale, searching in vain for Adam Taurus or any White Fang member so that she could fight him again and put the pressure on her instead of her friends. She felt horrible for what had happened to Yang, her closest friend, and knew she couldn't let that happen again. Thus why she left, why she had no contact with anyone, not even with SSSN, CFVY or any of the professors that were in Vale. What she had not expected however were three strangers coming from nowhere and kidnapping her two possible leads. She leaned against the chimney and calmed herself down before turning the corner and looking in the camp, hoping for something that could point her to the White Fang.

She missed her friends so badly, especially Yang. She knew that Yang would be horrifically mad at her and she understood. _I'll destroy everything you love… starting with her_ … Adam's words rung through her mind as she sat on the edge of the abandoned building, munching on some crackers that Mercury and Emerald had stored. Did Adam see something that she didn't?

* * *

"Eight. Damn. Hours. My God my eyes are killing me. Let's go home guys," Acadian said, seated at his desk while rubbing his eyes. He looked at the four young faces and saw what he expected: tired, annoyed, slightly angry, frustrated.

"We need to find something," Jaune said under his breath.

"Look, we have some time-"

"But how much is the question," Ren said before Acadian could finish.

"Agreed, but-"

"And who is to say that whoever helped Cinder isn't planning something new?" Nora added.

"I understand that-"

"And the quicker we get a lead the quicker we can go home," Ruby said, adding to Acadian's annoyance.

"True-"

"And besides-"

"Okay! Enough!" Acadian said, cutting Jaune off before he could talk. Acadian took a couple of deep breaths and composed himself, "Sorry. Look, you always need to look at something with fresh eyes. We could miss something if we look at these screens any longer. Let's go get dinner, train and hit the sack. You know that sounds good," he finished.

The four young Hunters looked at each other, each asking the same question with their eyes: should we stop or keep going? They looked for a few seconds before Ruby stood up, set the school Scroll on the ground and stretched, rubbing her eyes.

"Food does sound pretty good," she said, a smile spreading on Acadian's face as he nodded and stood up.

"I know a great take-out place a block away."

The five had gotten typical take-out food and walked back to the house, talking to each other to pass the time. Acadian was still trying to feel them out, much like how he did with his students, asking about their interests and just trying to connect with them any way possible. As he pulled plates down, he felt a tapping on his shoulder and turned to Ruby. They looked at each other for a few seconds until Acadian motioned his hand, urging Ruby to go on.

"Oh, sorry, lost my train of thought," she said, causing Acadian to chuckle as he got the rest of the plates down.

"Forgive me Ms. Rose, I just… damn, that was a long pause you had."

"Yeah, I get like that sometimes."

"I see."

"Oh! I remember: where is my uncle Qrow?"

"Qrow is following up on a couple of his own leads, checking on people, the usual. He has a lot on his plate now," Acadian said as everyone put various amounts of food on their plates, ranging from fries and burgers to stir-fry and salads. The five crashed on the couch and turned on the TV to channel surf.

"Really Ren? No meat?"

"Not tonight," he said to his partner, who rolled her eyes and dug into her burger. They sat in quiet content before Acadian looked at the four of them and ran a hand through his hair.

"Thought I would let you four know by the way," he began, getting their attention, "That hopefully sometime in the next two months I'm taking you guys back to Vale."

"Why? What's going on?" Jaune asked.

"Nothing, it's just that you guys need to be with friends and family. That's why I had a quick lesson with you guys this morning: I'm gonna train you, we're gonna get to the bottom of what is happening then you guys will head back to Vale. First to Atlas though to get Weiss back."

At those words Acadian saw their eyes light up, especially Ruby's, and a mutual understanding was seemingly in place. Train hard, find the bad guys, go home and save Remnant: all in a day's job for any Huntsman.

"So, more training in the future?"

"Nearly everyday."

"Sounds good."

"I have a question," Nora said, speaking up so all could hear her, "What's in your locket?"

"What, this old thing?" Acadian said, fiddling with the locket that was attacked to the necklace that never left his neck, "Nothing."

"Can I see what's inside?" Nora said with a wicked grin that was tamed when Ren nudged her.

"There's nothing in there, trust me," Acadian said, hoping someone would change the subject.

"What's with the design on it?" Jaune asked.

"It's my own. The gun is me, the anchor my father, he served in the Vacuo Navy."

"But you went to the Atlas Army? Why?" Ruby asked.

"Wanted to do something new and besides, I was getting bored with Vacuo."

"I remember you said that you were enrolled in the Hunter and Military Academies in Atlas. If you don't mind me asking, what happened with your old team?" Jaune asked, getting a glare from Ren and Ruby, causing Jaune to look nervous.

"Rather not say," Acadian said, making sure not to change the tone in his voice as he continued to flip channels. The silence was deafening; the team could tell they hit a nerve and were hoping Acadian wouldn't take it out on them with a harder training session.

"Sorry for asking," Jaune said and Acadian smiled at the blonde.

"No need to. You guys are really curious about the guy that you're staying with that is simultaneously helping you look for people and train you. Don't worry about it," Acadian said. While that helped relieve a majority of the tension in the room, Ruby could tell that the questions had bothered him. Why, she may never know, but she knew it bothered him. For Acadian, he just wanted to find something on TV to distract all of them.

* * *

 **Hi guys! Sorry this seems a bit short, graduated this weekend, got to the end of this chapter and said 'yeah, that'll do'. I like writing these bite sized chapters if only because of the fact that it's just enough, it's not to much, which is better in my opinion. Right, anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this one, 6 is done and I'll be working on 7 this week. Have a great week guys! Review, fav and follow!**


	6. Not The Perfect Reaction

Chapter 6

Three longs weeks of videos, three long weeks of training, connecting, eating… all in three weeks and still no word from Qrow. Acadian had started to grow a little worried until he reminded himself that, from what he heard, this was the norm for Qrow. What bothered Acadian more so however was what he felt he had to do now with the four kids that inhabited his house. The physical training, learning with each other, all that had been going well. He had learned more about them and them more about him: he learned how Pyrrha died, life in Vale, about Nora and Ren's past, Jaune's family and about Ruby's mother. They had learned about his father in the Navy, most of his time at the Atlas Academy, life on the simulated frontlines and life at Haven.

It had been all good and fun but Acadian realized something two days ago that he remembered from the military academy: training has two sides of it, physical and mental. Which was why he was nervous standing before the four of them who were seated on the couch. It was late and he knew that this exercise would make them hate him, but in his mind, he had to do it.

"Okay, so, ready for more training?" Acadian asked, his heart beating faster as he clapped his hands together and rubbed them. The four nodded and Acadian walked away from them, turning down the lights so that the house was barely lit.

"What's all this for?" Ruby asked as he stood in front of them again, sighing at her question.

"There are two components to every fight. You guys know what they are?"

"Tactics and maneuvering?"

"Weapon and semblance?"

"Some internal stuff?" Nora spoke up suddenly.

"All to an extent but I believe Nora got closest, very good Ms. Valkyrie. The physical side is the semblance, aura, weapon, training, all that. But the mental side, the 'internal stuff', truly dictates the fight."

"Our mental state during a fight," Jaune said and Acadian nodded.

"You four must realize something: if we are gathering intel on our enemies, they're doing the same to us."

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked. Acadian bowed his head and took a deep breath before turning to Ruby, a menacing look in his eyes as he strode over to her and got mere inches from her face.

"Why did you let her die?" he whispered so only she could hear.

"W-what?"

"Pyrrha… why did you let her die? You could've... should've... saved her," he said louder, the other three now staring at Acadian with distraught as Ruby looked at the ground, tears starting to form in her eyes, her cheeks burning, "You had your beloved weapon didn't you? You stood there-"

"Enough Acadian!" Jaune yelled, getting Acadian's attention, who stormed over to him and got just as close to Jaune as he did to Ruby.

"And what of you, Mr. Team Leader?!" Acadian bellowed to him, "How could you let your best fighter, a woman that loved you, die?!"

At those words Jaune stood and threw a punch, his vision going red and blurred by oncoming tears that he tried to hide. Acadian dodged the punch and pushed him back down onto the couch, before turning around, anticipating Nora and Ren, who had stood, and stopped them dead in their tracks.

"And you two! Why didn't you help your village?! The elders?! Your parents?!" he said before turning to the four, "You four have let people die! And you call yourselves heroes!? You wish to follow in the footsteps of your fallen comrades and family only because YOU. LET. THEM. DIE!"

Acadian breathed heavily and looked at the four of them before softening his features and realizing what he had said. His eyes widened at the frightened, angry, tear-filled eyes that stared at him. Before he could get a word out Ruby shot by with her semblance and slammed the door to her room as hard as she possibly could. Ren lead Nora away, who could not say a word as tears stained her cheeks, himself not saying a word nor looking at Acadian. He turned to Jaune, who stared at him, swallowed his anger and looked down after letting his shoulders slump.

"Jaune, I'm-" but Acadian could not finish as Jaune held his hand up, and shook his head, staring at the dead ahead at the black-screened TV. Acadian looked away and walked to the kitchen, getting a beer from the refrigerator and sighing to himself. He couldn't help himself when he said what he did… and in the inside, he knew it was, in a way, helping him get steam off that he had let accumulate for years. He walked upstairs and sat on his bed, taking a swig of beer and laying down, looking at his Scroll for a couple of hours until his eyes started to get heavy.

Before Acadian knew it he was knocked out but he was quickly awoken by a thump that came from downstairs. His eyes shot open, rolled out of bed and grabbed his sword before jumping the railing and landing near the couch, looking around and ready to strike. His body language changed completely however because of what he was witnessing: Ruby, Jaune, Nora and Ren all with their bags packed and ready to go, the four staring at him in slight shock then anger.

"Guys-"

"No Acadian," Jaune said, picking up his bag and walking to the door. Acadian quickly stepped in front of him and as Jaune tried to move around him Acadian put a hand on his shoulder.

"Your enemies are gonna do a lot worse."

"What?" Jaune asked, turning to Acadian.

"Your enemies… they will have all of this and so much more. They're gonna dig, they're gonna get the dirty details… They're not going to hold back."

"Well why couldn't you?" Ruby asked.

"I had to give you guys a taste of what was coming. And, I'll be honest, I had to get a few things off my chest and man it feels good when you can yell," Acadian said, severely disappointed in himself as he said those words.

"You honestly think they'll have all of this information on us?" Ren asked.

"Maybe, maybe not. The point of the exercise was to show you guys that people will get under your skin and say shit you're not ready to hear. They'll put you on the worst guilt trip in the world."

"What would you know about that?" Nora asked, anger stirring in Acadian as he responded.

"What if someone told you 'I'm gonna make Ren's life hell unless you leave and abandon him?'. What if," he began, turning to Ruby, "someone said the same to you that you had to leave Yang alone and never talk to her again and if you didn't you would see her in pain, torment, visible bruises and cuts?"

The four looked at Acadian with renewed interest as he breathed slowly and returned their looks.

"I understand to an extent. I know that, one day, those memories of mine will be called upon in battle and I don't know if I'll be able to fight them back. That's why I do this with my students and with now you guys. I've had students spit at me, punch me, curse me out, I've been reported to my headmaster God knows how many times… and I don't regret it. I don't know our current enemies and future enemies will come in different sizes, shapes and species. You have to be prepared at all costs. I know you guys will be mad at me for a while and I accept that wholeheartedly, but you have to understand that I want to make sure you guys will live through this. You may leave if you want and call Qrow, that choice is yours."

With those finals words Acadian walked back upstairs and returned his blade to the stand it rested on a few feet away from the bed before laying down and closing his eyes as a flood of dark memories came back to him.

"What's the call?" Ren asked quietly, looking around at his friends. Jaune looked at the three then upstairs.

"Let's stay for now… but, as soon as we get that information-"

"He's going to be traveling with us anyway Jaune," Nora said, cutting off her team leader.

"We can ask my uncle Qrow to come with us," Ruby said. The other three thought on it for a minute before Nora looked at them.

"I'm okay with it."

"Sounds good, I want to get out of here," Jaune said, shaking his head and walking away. The girls retired to their rooms but Ren stayed out unbeknownst to Jaune, who had moved to the couch, and silently approached his friend, clamping a hand on his shoulder, shocking him.

"Damn it Ren."

"Sorry Jaune," Ren said, sitting next to Jaune and looking at him, "It really bothered you."

"Why wouldn't it?" the blonde retorted, standing up and pacing, "Of course we just had to tell him things about us and he uses it. How the hell would anyone else now any of that stuff?"

"To be fair, anyone can look up what happened to Nora and I's village," Ren said quietly, Jaune stopping and looking at him before Ren continued, "And what Acadian said days ago is right: if there are more than one person involved in these attacks, information can be passed around easily."

"Are you really defending him?"

"Not really," Ren said, standing up and turning to Jaune, "But, I see his position and understand him. I don't agree with his methods but that is life. Concentrate that anger and use it to fuel our efforts Jaune," Ren said, patting Jaune's shoulder before turning away, leaving Jaune alone to think in the living room.

* * *

"You two understand the mission completely?" the leader clad in red asked Mercury and Emerald, who nodded their heads.

"It has to be quick and quiet, in and out," the man clad in purple said, looking over his sword.

"We got it," Mercury said in annoyance. He and Emerald had been kidnapped by these three strangers, taken to a rocky, scary looking area with a purple hue throughout and were instructed by a woman with skin as white as paper to follow her orders or die. Really, the two didn't have time to digest anything before being flung into a new mission.

"What about Cinder?" Emerald remembered asking the woman when they first met, who looked at her with those red pupils, making the thief shiver.

"In time."

The five went through a portal conjured by the mysterious woman and ran through, appearing in a back alley in Vale. The man in red took cover at the end of the alleyway and waited, motioning to the four to him. They waited for what seemed like ages until they heard talking.

"Come on Dove!"

"Alright, sorry Cardin, I'm just-"

"Oh what, are you scared?!" Cardin Wincester said with a wicked grin to his teammate, who sighed in response.

"Something just seems off Cardin," Sky said, trying to stand-up for his teammate. The four passed the five lying in wait. The leader had a wicked grin on his face as he stepped forward and flexed his hands.

"Take them," he said and the other four moved in at once. A shield hit Dove square in the back of the head, chains wrapped around Sky, a broken sword wrapped around Russell and as Cardin turned to see what had happened to his teammates a solid boot came crashing into his cheek. Cardin and Dove were out cold and Sky tried to fight back but was quickly knocked out with a stun shot to the head by Emerald. Russell put up a fight, trying to uncoil the sword from around him but was dragged back and into a fist that leveled him.

The man in red came forward, observing the carnage and nodding in approval. He shot his hand out, brought forth a portal and walked over to the unconscious body of Cardin, flinging him over his shoulder.

"Let's go," he said over his shoulder, everyone except the woman in green picking up a body and all going through the portal to the strange realm that was seemingly Mercury and Emerald's new home.

* * *

"Focus Weiss!" Winter yelled at her sister, who was using a summoning glyph. What made Winter proud and shocked was what Weiss had brought forward so far: it was the legs and sword of a giant knight, one that Winter recognized as being a large training robot that Weiss had trained with a month before she left for Beacon. Weiss was able to get the chest but just as she was about to get the other arm it collapsed on her. Weiss yelled in frustration and crossed her arms, not wanting to hide her emotions whatsoever. Winter walked over to her and slapped the back of her head.

"Hey!"

"I said focus, Weiss! Clear your mind!"

"I know! It's just… ugh…" she said, shaking her head and covering her eyes with her free hand, which Winter moved.

"I know what happened has been a toll and I know you miss your friends, but you need to focus and properly learn this. I want to make sure you're okay in battle," Winter said. That was the one thing Weiss could always count on when it came to her sister: caring one minute and completely critical the next.

"I understand, I'll work on it… but do you really have to go? These three weeks have flown by."

"They have but I need to check-in on General Ironwood. His last message to high command said to give him five months and times nearly up. I will return soon though Weiss, I promise," Winter said with a small smile to her little sister that reciprocated it. Winter turned and left the large training arena, leaving her little sister alone, who turned and summoned another glyph.

* * *

 **Yeah, sorry for getting this out so late. My past week has been quitting one job, getting another and having two interviews for a part-time second job all with some really moronic family drama. Good news is that seven and eight are done and even though eight is short it is also going to be a lot of fun. Hope you guys have enjoyed the journey and we'll continue this journey soon! Love you guys, please fav, follow and/or review!**


	7. Time to Prepare

Chapter 7

The next few days had been hard and rather awkward for Acadian and the young Hunters. Ren and Nora seemed okay with him, with Ren talking to him regularly, yet Jaune and Ruby had barely said a word to the professor. The search had become infuriating as well: they had gone back nearly a month and a half and still nothing to show for their hard work. Acadian knew he had screwed up but, more importantly, knew that they were running out of time.

Having returned to his office with some chips from a vending machine, he was quite perplexed as to why the four of them had gathered around Ruby's Scroll.

"What's going on? Funny cat video?" he asked, smiling at his own joke as he approached the four. Jaune looked at him with eyes Acadian hadn't seen in the past three days: hope and eagerness.

"We found them."

"What?!"

"We got the bastards who helped Cinder," Jaune said with a smile as Acadian moved to them in a few steps and took the Scroll from Ruby. The four watched Acadian, waiting for his reaction and what the next move would be.

The video, which was dated two weeks before the breach of Vale, showed a washing room that was unguarded. A man clad in red and white walked up, looked around and entered the room, looking at various clothing options before choosing two skirts, one pair of slacks and three shirts that were all the Haven Academy uniforms. Acadian gasped quietly and sharply as the man turned and he saw the perpetrators face, a familiar face he had not seen in years before the man tampered with the camera, cutting the feed.

"What's wrong professor?" Nora asked as Acadian looked shocked and brought a hand to his mouth to cover it. He shook his head slowly and handed the Scroll back to Ruby, who set it down on the table in front of her as Acadian took a seat at his desk and put his face in his hands.

"Acadian?" Ruby asked, walking over to the professor and putting a hand on his shoulder. For the first time, the four saw the professor not as his usual stoic,cheerful, typical work day self but as a man that was shocked… broken even.

"I know that man," he said, barely aloud, shocking everyone as he turned to Ruby, his eyes slowly becoming red, "How did you find that video?"

"Some videos had been deleted, including that one," she said quietly as he stood and paced the room, "Did they have someone here working for them?"

"Or maybe they had someone come in and delete it, replacing the missing video with a typical loop," Ren said out loud, pondering the possibility as Acadian walked behind a chair, gripped the top of it and looked at the four of them.

"Who was that Acadian?" Jaune asked.

"My old teammate… rather, my old team leader: Crimson Sayre."

Ruby and Ren gasped while Nora and Jaune were too shocked to say anything. The four looked at one another then at Acadian, who ran a hand over his eyes.

"Did… did you know-"

"No, Jaune, I didn't know… hell I don't know if Crimson even has Yura or Nadia still with him."

"Your other team members?" Nora asked and was met with a nod from Acadian. The room fell deathly silent until Acadian composed himself, walked to his computer and activated a projector that was in the room. Acadian pointed to and Ruby pulled down a large screen while Acadian pulled up the video along with two pictures showing off the three people he now knew could be his enemies.

"Crimson Sayre: my age at 24, 6 foot even, two swords. Semblance is enhanced speed. Unlike you Ruby where you move very fast he moves his hands fast, allowing a flurry of attacks the likes of which you would never want to be on the receiving end of. Yura Amaranth: same age, inch higher, snake blade. That blade breaks apart and he is a master at it, allowing him to shoot it into the ground and wraps around your feet, wraps around any body part really, and pull hard. His semblance allows him to cover a specific part of his body in a purple rock that is hard as hell. He dictates where it covers but it only lasts for a few seconds."

"You think we're going to run into them?" Nora asked and was met only with a nod as Acadian finished.

"Last but not least is Nadia Jade. Same age, just under 5 foot 11, uses a shield as her weapon. That shield is made of a specific metal and she has magnets on both arms that only react to that metal. Ambidextrous, can throw it and can hit a button on the bottom of either forearm to engage a bladed edge around it. I remember she was trying to do something to allow it to break in two and allow her to use it as gauntlets, don't know if she ever did. Her semblance creates a bubble shield but it takes a helluva toll on her."

Acadian let the silence hang in the air as the four teenagers studied their new enemies and were going over everything that he had told them.

"Are they still working together?" Ren asked.

"Don't know but I do know that those three were really close… if Crimson is involved in this we have to assume that the other two are as well."

"Were you not that close with them?" Ruby asked.

"I was… but, things happened and we fell apart. We were called team CYAN and were labeled as misfits. I didn't do as my parents wanted, Nadia and Yura did a lot of illegal activity together and Crimson… he said his parents died in a fire, but I dispute that to this day."

"…Why?"

"Files from the crime scene showed that both of his parents suffered injuries prior to the fire but there was never enough to say that someone killed them first."

"Great, we're going against a murderer and two long-time criminals… how did they get into Atlas?" Jaune asked in disbelief.

"Remnant always needs Hunters no matter what. Again, no one could prove that Crimson killed his parents and Atlas put Yura and Nadia through two weeks of hell to prove themselves before they could join the Academy."

"Okay, better question: why join?"

"Sometimes people do want better lives Jaune… they just can't stay to the path."

Acadian left those words in the air as opened a desk drawer and took out a slip of paper, writing furiously on it for a minute before grabbing his sword from the rack it rested on and slid it onto his back holster.

"What are you doing?" Nora asked.

"Putting in a request for time off: if those three are involved we need to get Weiss and get back to Vale now."

"Why?"

"Because revenge is the ultimate fuel to any fire."

* * *

The five had returned to his house and began to pack immediately, knowing that within the next day they were leaving for hopefully greener pastures. Before Acadian could finish packing however he heard a knock on the door that made everyone freeze. The former soldier moved down the stairs quietly and motioned for Ruby to throw his assault rifle, which she did. He checked it to make sure it was loaded and cocked it, loading the next round in the chamber. He aimed the weapon at the door and moved forward slowly, his military training taking over as he gripped doorknob, turned it slowly then flung the door open, his finger on the trigger. He sighed in relief very loudly and pulled the person in.

"I have to say, I haven't had a gun aimed at me in quite a while," Qrow Branwen said and was met with a hug from Ruby, "The hell is going on?"

"It's my old team Qrow."

"Wait, what? What do you mean?" the elder Huntsman asked. Acadian motioned for Qrow to follow him and the two walked up to the professor's room while the others continued to pack.

"Ruby caught the bastards that gave Cinder those uniforms and it was Crimson. That file was in a trash bin with other files and someone tried to delete it."

"How come security didn't catch any of this?"

"With a created loop and old videos moved to the recycle bin to make room, there was no way anyone would catch it. Besides, something is telling me Nadia or Yura helped."

"Did you tell them who they were?"

"Yeah, thank God they listened."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well… um... I _may_ have gone just a bit too far with a lesson I was teaching them."

"What lesson was that?"

"Winning the mental battle of any fight."

"Please don't tell me you brought up Py-"

"Yeah…"

"Damnit Acadian," Qrow said, shaking his head at the professor who shrugged his shoulders in response. Qrow helped him pack and the two stayed silent for a minute, the frantic movement and checking of what was ready to go occupying their minds.

"Maybe you should talk to them."

"Why?"

"Because they like you and so they don't leave me," Acadian said, getting a grunt as a response, something he would take any day of the week from Qrow, "So, how've you been? You've been gone nearly a month."

"I had to make sure everything was in order before I came back."

"Such as?"

"The other Maidens are okay. They're stashed away where no one can find them. I've been trying to track down Cinder's associates Mercury and Emerald but nothing has turned up."

"Are they stuck in Vale like everyone else?"

"That is a possibility. I'm gonna head down and talk to them; finish packing."

Acadian acknowledged the orders and hurried his pace, mentally checking everything off as Qrow walked downstairs. Jaune's bag was sitting on the couch, fully packed and ready to go, the young Huntsman having gone to help his teammates pack. Qrow knocked and entered Ruby's room, finding her getting the last of her clothing.

"Hey kiddo."

"Hey Uncle Qrow," Ruby said with a smile. Qrow walked over and checked her ammunition, making sure every bullet was accounted for.

"So, how's everything been here?"

"It's been… decent."

"Not as of lately though, right?" Qrow asked. Ruby sighed, lowered her head and nodded as a response.

"It's just… Pyrrha's death… I-"

"Ruby, you don't need to explain to me anything about her death. Tell me what Acadian said."

Ruby did after the two of them sat on the edge of her bed, explaining how Acadian set up the scenario and how he went off on her and her friends. About how he apologized for what happened and explained to them why he did what he did. She ended it with how her and Jaune had more or less been avoiding him while Nora and Ren, mainly Ren, were okay with him and still talked to him.

"I didn't think it was that bad."

"He said that he does this with other students," she said, making Qrow chuckle.

"Why am I not surprised. Ruby-"

"It's not funny uncle Qrow!" Ruby exclaimed, getting up and storming to her dresser. She crossed her arms then suddenly flung one of the drawers open, looking around for something to throw in her bag. Qrow got up and walked over to her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder and squeezing it.

"I apologize Ruby. But every professor is different. If you knew Acadian like how I know him, you would understand. I'm shocked he even gave the basic details about what happened with him and his team. Acadian's life has been rough and I think he wants to people to understand that when life gets low people will always take advantage of that. You and your friends have to rise above and use it as fuel, not let it take over. And you're going to have to do that real soon Ruby."

With those words Qrow left his niece and talked to Jaune, Ren and Nora, giving a similar speech to them. Qrow knew that it would take time for the four to fully forgive Acadian but he needed them too. His talk with Ruby's friends were cut short however by Acadian.

"You guys need to see this," he said in the doorway. He then moved to Ruby's room and said the same to her. The five joined him in the living room and on the TV were the three people he had brought up along with two familiar faces.

"Emerald and Mercury?" Ruby asked, looking at the two that stood to the left while Crimson lead in four badly beaten people that made the four young Huntsmen jump.

"Is that…?" Nora asked.

"Team CRDL," Jaune said, covering his mouth with his hands as Crimson stood in front of the camera with a wicked.

"Hello people of Mistral."

* * *

 **Sorry this is late! I am so sorry! This week got away from me, it really did. Basically didn't get a second job that I need because I'm moving out of my parents at the end of September. Again, I fully apologize for this, my bad. I hope you guys do enjoy and I'll be back next week hopefully on Sunday or earlier! Thanks guys, you're awesome!**


	8. Worst of the Worst

Chapter 8

"Now, I know what you're thinking: who is that handsome gentleman talking right now? Are those teenagers behind him going to die? Where the hell is he at? Can I change the channel because I'm missing my drama? In order: Crimson Sayre, hello; oh hell yeah; can't tell you and nope, fuck your drama program. I'm here to let you all in on a little secret: Remnant, it's fucked. Crazy talk I know… but, you guys remember what happened in Vale right?"

The six looked at the screen as flashes of the attack on Vale appeared on the screen. Acadian grabbed the remote and kept changing the channel but to no avail as it showed the wicked grin of his former team leader. Everyone had various degrees of concern on their faces, curious as to what would happen next.

"Good times that will continue in Mistral very, very soon I promise. Now, what brings me here? Well, to show you all something, to teach a lesson if you will. A simple lesson really: what will happen if Huntsmen and Huntress' get in our way? Well, let me show you guys."

"Oh my God," Acadian said before turning to the four students, "You guys need to turn away now."

"You… you think-"

"Finish packing now!" Acadian ordered and the four scurried off as Qrow and Acadian watched in dismay and anger.

"And we can't do a damn thing."

"No," Qrow said, anger brewing in him as Acadian covered his mouth after lowering the volume on the TV. Crimson moved over to Cardin, he and his team bound and gagged, visible bruises on their faces. The leader stood behind the team leader and to Crimson's left was Yura, Mercury, Emerald and Nadia.

"Now, Mistral, I do hope you're ready for this. Because what your seeing is going to happen to you in about, oh, I don't know… it may be a year… a week… a few hours… any last words?" he asked, looking down at Cardin, who struggled against his bonds and gag. Crimson nodded and patted Cardin on the shoulder before placing a finger over his pursed lips.

"I gotcha… I'll let them know buddy. Cardin here said, 'Watch out, this guys is nuts!'… and I don't appreciate being called that," Crimson said, his tone and demeanor becoming lower and darker. Before Cardin could react, Crimson drew his swords and shoved both through the back of Cardin Wincester and both exploded through his chest, blood dripping from the blades. Cardin's eyes went wide and looked down at the blades before his eyes started to close. His teammates yelled into their gags and struggled, trying to move to their leader, their eyes turning red as Crimson kicked Cardin off his blades, their leader impacting the ground hard.

Yura didn't waste time and with his blade slit the throat Russell while Mercury kicked Dove's back, discharging a shot that created a whole in his chest. Both slumped forward and fell to the ground, leaving Emerald and Nadia, who was looking at the thief. Emerald had her guns drawn and aimed at the back of Sky Lark's head but hadn't pulled the trigger. The guns visibly shook in her hands and a bead of sweat ran down her face, her face showing signs of confusion and regret. Crimson walked over to her, placed two hands on her shoulders and whispered something in her ear. She nodded her head but still had not pulled the trigger, thus Crimson looked at Nadia and nodded. His teammate pulled out her shield, engaged the bladed edge that ran around it and thrust it into the young man's chest horizontally over his heart. Lark, who had tears pouring down his cheeks, fell forward, his eyes showing no life and with his impact the TV went black.

Acadian covered his eyes, feeling a rush of emotion as he sighed and turned to Qrow, who had not budged and conveyed no emotion.

"We need to get them out of here."

"You think Crimson was right?" Acadian asked and Qrow looked at him confused, "Grimm will come to the city?"

"I don't know."

"Gather Hunters, I'm gonna head to the airfield, meet us there," Acadian said, gripping Qrow's shoulder and patting it before going to the young Hunters. He entered and closed the door behind him, judging that they knew what had happened. Acadian sighed and leaned against the closed door before running a hand through his black hair that was tinted blue.

"Are…-"

"Yes."

"When do we-"

"Now," Acadian said, looking at the four of them before leaving the room and gathering his bag, sword and special pouch that he attached to the top of his left thigh. All of his Huntsman and military training had prepared him for this moment: War.

* * *

"What the fuck was that?" Crimson asked Emerald, her breath coming to her in short bursts as she avoided his eyes. Crimson grabbed her chin and wrenched her head to look up at him, his green eyes digging into her dark-red eyes.

"I'm waiting."

"I-I…. I…"

"I, I, I, I oh shut up! You ruined everything!" he said, shoving her head and walking away, his arms behind his back, his harsh breathing heard by everyone. He straightened his back and turned to Emerald, walking toward her with steel determination, stopping just inches from her and leaned in.

"Disobey me again and I'll gut you myself!" he exclaimed, "Now clean up these damn bodies!"

Emerald moved away and looked at the four dead teenagers, Nadia patting her back as Crimson walked to Salem, who had observed everything and had crossed her arms. The two stood quietly for a few minutes, observing the other four as they unbound the bodies and lined them up.

"What now?"

"Now we move on your threats," Salem said quietly, a wicked grin coming to Crimson. He walked to his group and Salem opened a portal, allowing them to not only dispose of the bodies but to lead the attack.

* * *

"What kind of messed up shit was that today?" one Mistral soldier said to another. The two of them were with a very recently sent Mistral regiments that now guarded the northern border. Two forts each were situated at the two borders and were now fully stocked with 8 regiments of the Mistral army while the rest of the army waited in the capital city.

"Yeah I know," the friend responded.

"You think it's going to get as bad as Vale?"

"If it does, I'll show the Grimm not to fuck with us," he said with a grin, cocking his gun.

"Good luck with that gentleman," the two heard behind them. They turned only to see the red glint of two blades meet their necks.

* * *

 **I'm gonna preface my little message with this: my thoughts and prayers go out to those affected by the Orlando shooting. It's a horrific crime and one that simply makes me shake my head. It's a tragedy that did not need to happen. Now, my normal message: Yup, this is where things get fun. 10 is definitely awesome and 9 is a badass throw down, but those are for the next two weeks. Hope you guys liked this really short chapter (sorry!) and I'll be back next week! Much love to all of you!**


	9. Free At Last

Chapter 9

"How far to the airfield?"

"About four miles, hope you guys are ready to truck it."

"You think-"

"No, I know, that's why you need to go now."

"I will, I just want to make sure you guys will be okay."

"I'll make sure they'll be okay," Acadian said to Qrow with a grim expression as he loaded and cocked his assault rifle, three clips of ammo hanging off his belt as they exited the front door. The gun had a steely tint to its body and was the standard issue except for the modifications Acadian had made, mainly making it skinnier and creating a conforming stock that matched his shoulder. All six looked around at the gathering clouds and Acadian shook his head.

"Of course there's a storm gathering."

"Wanted anything picturesque?"

"Was kinda hoping," Acadian said to Qrow.

They moved down the busy streets, avoiding people who were now trying to leave the kingdom even though messages of reassurance screamed on the TV's. Acadian let go of his assault rifle and slung it over his right shoulder, freeing his hands up to make a call.

"Hi, it's Acadian Zaffre… Yeah, I figured as much… Please, if you can… thanks," he said, putting his Scroll up and looking at the confused faces, "I'm having the airfield prepare it for take-off."

"Good thinking."

"How much longer?" Ruby asked.

"A couple of miles," Acadian answered. He felt a few drops of rain that were overtaken with a steady fall of rain seconds later. The four students talked to themselves, weapons at the ready, as they walked down the street and Acadian moved to Qrow.

"This is going to make it worse."

"Oh I know. You think your team will be here?"

"Yeah, I have that feeling."

"Worse feeling in the world."

"Yeah no shit," Acadian said before the six turned to a high-pitched scream. They ran to the source, a somewhat busy street, and found a woman and others trying to run from a Beowolf that was quickly dropped by a headshot from Ruby. The woman ran by them in hysteria, leaving them to watch the beast disappear.

"What's a Beowolf doing so far inside the kingdom?" Ren asked.

"The armies at the northern borders, there's no way… Oh my God… did they…" Acadian said, running a hand through his wet hair.

"Did they…?" Jaune asked as Acadian's face became a face of terror and then changed again.

"Qrow, go get some Hunters now and try to set up a loose perimeter around major civilian areas. We'll be fine," Acadian said, turning to Qrow with a face of pure determination, one that Qrow knew would come to Acadian eventually: the face of a soldier. Qrow nodded after a pat on his shoulder from Acadian, took off away from them in a dead sprint and the professor unslung his assault rifle and aimed down the red-dot scope he had on top of it. He moved down the street at a steady pace, everyone else's weapons at the ready as he looked left and right, his soldier training taking over, the last two miles creeping by as they took down random Grimm, from a couple of Beowolfs to a Ursa Major.

At last they made it to the airfield, getting next to a chain-link fence and looking at the various Bullheads.

"Which one Acadian?!" Nora asked over the hollowing wind and rainfall that had picked up. Acadian looked down his scope and spotted his airship thanks to a long line on the side that looked similar to racing stripes. He pointed it out to them and the duo of Ruby and Jaune cut the fence open, allowing them to quickly move onto the field but stopped in their tracks when they heard a loud roar to their right.

"Shit," Acadian said, lowering his rifle and slinging it as they stared at a gathering of diverse Grimm, from Beowolfs to Ursa's with a few Alpha's sprinkled in. Acadian looked at the four, who looked at him, waiting for an order.

"What's the plan?!"

"I leave that to you two!" Acadian said, pointing to Ruby and Jaune.

"Now is not the time for a lesson Acadian!" Ruby yelled.

"Oh yes it is! You two got this!"

Ruby and Jaune looked at each other and thought for a minute, the Grimm preoccupied with other things at the other end. A smile slowly grew on Acadian's face as Ruby and Jaune discussed a plan.

"Okay!" Ruby began, everyone encircling her so they could hear, "Nora and I will lay down long range fire, Acadian will move up with Ren and Jaune will engage in close quarters! Questions?!" Ruby asked and got determined looks back. As soon as their small huddle broke Nora and Ruby aimed down the airfield and fired, grenades imploding Grimm and others heads exploding or limbs flying off. Acadian, Ren and Jaune jetted down one of the runways, the two gunners in front, their weapons firing seemingly endless shots that ripped apart Grimm. Just as they reached the Grimm Jaune launched himself from behind the two and slammed into three Grimm with his shield. Acadian transitioned to his sword with ease and cut down various Grimm as he, Ren and Jaune moved around each other with ease as Ruby kept up her shots and Nora charged to them.

Jaune turned and braced for Nora, Acadian decapitating a Beowolf to protect Jaune and watched as Nora was launched into the air. Such a move distracted some of the Grimm, allowing Ren and Acadian to cut a few down. Nora grinned in mid-air, aimed and quickly got off two grenades before turning Magnhild back into the hammer and got another shot off to accelerate her descent, her hammer soon crashing into the airfield, sending out a large shock-wave that knocked everyone and everything except Ruby down. The Hunters got up as quickly as they could and finished off the downed Grimm. Acadian winced and rotated his arms as they regrouped.

"Rather impressive Ms. Valkyrie, didn't expect that!"

"Thanks!" she said with a smile and a thumbs up.

"We need to get out of here!" Jaune said and the five ran to the waiting airship. The storm finally started to die down but 50 feet before the airship Acadian was suddenly flung forward and he face-planted the side of the airship. The four stopped in shock and Acadian groaned, rolling over and watching a round shield return to its rightful owners left arm. Acadian's breathing went from painful to deep and full of hatred as he got up slowly, straightened his vest and looked at the five that were staring at him and what he considered his students.

Two people that Ruby and her friends had described to Acadian accompanied three others that he knew all too well. The man in the middle wore a long sleeve white shirt, black pants and boots, a dark red cape over his right arm and two sword hilts could be seen sticking up, crossed over each other. His dark, short red hair was matted to his forehead, his dark green eyes staring at Acadian with glee. The man to his left stared with yellow eyes and wore a dark purple jacket, a lighter shade of purple t-shirt, black shorts that his sword hung off of, sneakers and his long black hair that reached the small of his back had tints of yellow in it.

Lastly was the woman to the right, her light red eyes looking at the five and looking over her shield. She flexed dark brown leather gloved hands and wore a green top that covered her arms but showed off a toned midriff, jeans and black boots, her green hair that Acadian remembered being spiked now in a short ponytail. Her green and black circular shield was 2 feet in diameter and had her insignia in the middle, an Army private insignia with a light blue band around the top of it.

"Well… well… well…" the man in the middle said, his grin getting bigger as Acadian regrouped with the teenagers.

"Acadian," Ruby, to his right, said quietly and he nodded.

"Yeah," he said, stepping forward and unsheathing his sword, "Hey guys," he said, mainly addressing the three.

"Hello Acadian."

"Yura, long time no see."

"Could say the same to you."

"Nadia, good to see you."

"Wish I could say the same Acadian."

"Well, that's hurtful," Acadian said as he reached into the pouch on his left thigh, pulled out a red Dust crystal and lightly tapped little bar that hung from the hilt of his sword. The circular part where the blade connected to the hilt popped open and Acadian threw the crystal in before whipping it shut, confidence slowly building in him.

"Let us go Crimson."

"You know I can't do that. Now, come with us and we'll make your deaths as painless as possible."

"Guys," Acadian said, turning to the four, "Get in the ship and go."

"Acadian-" Ruby began to protest that was stopped by Acadian holding up his hand.

"Put Atlas into the autopilot and one of the listed helipads should be the Schnee's private one. Just go, I'll hold them off."

"Really? Trying to be noble? Leaving people again?" Nadia said, making Acadian turn to her, a scowl on his face as he readied his blade. The tension thickened in the air and next thing anyone knew Acadian charged in, blade raised and slashed at Crimson, who had taken his red steel swords out and blocked the attack. The two quickly exchanged attacks, Crimson at times overwhelming Acadian, who barely held him off and tripped him. Before Acadian had a moment to breath he ducked Nadia's shield and sidestepped the return but was met with a powerful shot from Mercury that launched him back.

"Ren, get the autopilot started," Jaune said, Ren nodding at the command and running to the Bullhead as Jaune turned to his female friends, "Let's help."

"Was hoping you would say that," Nora said as she turned and discharged a shot into the ground, launching her into Crimson, who did not expect her and was flung a few away from the impact. Ruby got a few shots off that Nadia easily deflected before trying to close the gap between the two of them. Yura and Acadian exchanged blows and before Emerald or Mercury could move in to join the melee they were stopped by a figure in grey and black and wielding a large scythe.

"Going somewhere?" Qrow asked. Mercury launched himself at Qrow but Emerald hesitated before going into it, knowing that if she didn't her life could be over. The engines started on the Bullhead and Ren ran out from the cockpit, joining in the melee as well, trying to support Nora as Jaune helped Ruby fight Nadia.

"We have a minute before it takes off!" Ren yelled to Acadian. He couldn't reply because Yura whipped his snake sword around, trying to wrap it either around Solstice or Acadian's arm but couldn't because of the swordsman's skills. He closed the gap and launched his shoulder into Yura, launching him back and knocking the air out of him.

"Jaune! Ruby! Move!" he exclaimed and both did as they were told. On queue, Acadian squeezed the brake handle on the hilt of his blade with two fingers and with the rest of his right hand turned the hilt, revving sounds emitting from the blade as the circular part spun rapidly. Nadia turned in time to raise her shield as Acadian cried out in anger, let go of the brake handle and pointed the tip of his blade at her, flames shooting from the circular part down and out the beveled groove, creating a flamethrower that enveloped Nadia. Jaune and Ruby watched in shock until snapping back thanks to Crimson coming at them.

"Pull back!" Acadian yelled, causing Crimson to turn and be greeted with a kick by Ren as the four retreated to the Bullhead. Qrow and Acadian held off Mercury and Nadia respectively as their teammates struggled to get up. Qrow hopped on the ship as it began to take off and Acadian ducked a shield punch that was countered with a pommel strike, allowing Acadian to jump on. Emerald looked on and reached a hand out that she quickly retracted because Crimson shot a look at her.

Ruby saw the look that Crimson shot at Emerald and was overcome with terror and on pure emotion took off for the cockpit.

"We have to turn around!" Ruby yelled. Acadian nodded and whipped the Bullhead around but was met with gunfire from Mercury. Crimson stormed to Emerald, took her pistols and opened fire, trying to hit one of the engines.

"I can't! It's is too hot!"

"We can get her! Just land! They're going to kill her!" Ruby exclaimed but right as she did, a small explosion ripped through the ship, causing Acadian to look out the side window and he saw the right engine smoking, a small fire starting to grow.

"I'm sorry Ruby!" Acadian said as he punched the throttle while pulling up on the yolk, launching the Bullhead skyward. Crimson turned to Emerald before opening a portal and pushing her into it, the others following behind him. After he cleared the storm Acadian returned to everyone and placed a hand on Ruby.

"I'm so sorry Ruby," Acadian said, being met with quiet, sad eyes. Acadian squeezed her shoulder before giving her a hug. Ruby was shocked but returned the hug just before Acadian pulled away and patted her arm.

"We'll get your friend."

"No we won't," Ruby said before leaning against one of the walls and sliding down it. Jaune and his team walked over to her, leaving Qrow with Acadian.

"On to Atlas?"

"Time to pay the Schnee's a visit."

* * *

 **heeeyyyy so this is late, I know, I'm sorry and I know I've used the excuse of 'oh, I've been busy' etc etc. this time I just didn't make time to edit so I apologize for this being late. I will say that my chapters are getting mad long now and I'm also now getting into the meat of my story aka the part I've been wanting to write since I began writing this, so it should be a load of fun. as always guys please do review, fav or follow and I'll see you next sunday, have a awesome week!**


	10. Stealing A Schnee

Chapter 10

The flight to Atlas had been rocky to say the least. The near 13-hour trip passed by slowly for Acadian, who kept looking at the right engine that had been damaged by the gunfire of their enemies. Even with main power going to the left engine, if the right one cut off, they would soon be in the water and that is something he did not want. While worrying about the engine, Qrow had relaxed in the co-pilot seat, telling his young friend to calm down before nodding off. The rest of the team rested in the body of the ship, trying to get comfortable on the cool metal through the bumpy skies. Ren and Nora were content with everything and sat next to a sleeping Ruby, who was trying to ease her worrying mind. She didn't want to see anyone else die: after seeing Cinder pierce Pyrrha's chest with an arrow, the young Huntress wanted to stop the violence but seemingly couldn't, which was upsetting her more and more. All the while Jaune watched over the three, making sure they were okay, doing his best to hold his friends together.

40 minutes out from Atlas Acadian finally emerged from the cockpit, the lack of sleep showing on his eyes and his movements as he moved heavily to the four. Acadian sat next to the four, ran a hand through his hair, straightened his tie and looked at the four, only three of whom returned the look.

"How is she doing?"

"She's…okay, I think," Ren said, looking from Acadian to the sleeping team leader.

"Yeah, I figured," Acadian said after a sigh and ran his hand through his hair again, "I don't think any of you were prepared for this stuff."

The four fell silent and Jaune looked to his teammates then his friend, nodding his head in agreement with Acadian who was having trouble keeping his eyes open.

"I don't think any of us thought it would get this bad," Jaune said.

"Couldn't agree more," Nora chirped in.

"Yeah… hey, so," Acadian said, gaining the attention of the three, "For what is worth, I'm sorry and fully apologize again for the lesson I gave you four. It was… not how I wanted it to go and that's my fault. I know you guys were considering ditching me after Mistral and I don't want that to happen. Hell, you four are definitely the best students I've ever had and wouldn't want you to leave."

"Aww did you hear that Ren? We're his best students ever!" Nora said with excitement, flinging her arms open, making the other three chuckle at her glee. Jaune, with a smile on his face, walked over to Acadian and laid a hand on his shoulder as Ruby began to stir.

"I think we may have over-reacted a little."

"No, to be fair, you guys had every right to react the way you did."

"True, but you were right, I felt like at any time they were going to say something really harsh to one of us."

"Yeah, wouldn't have been shocked."

With those words a quiet fell over the four until Ruby sat up, rubbed her eyes and looked at Acadian with eyes that showed years of experience she couldn't possibly have.

"I forgive you," she said, Acadian sharing a smile with her and rubbing her arm before she looked down.

"What is it Ruby?"

"I just feel so bad for Emerald…"

"I'm sure she's fine Ruby."

"I hate to say it Acadian… but something tells me she isn't."

The three team members looked at each other than at Ruby, who shook her head and sighed. Acadian ran a hand around his mouth, feeling the rough facial hair that had started to grow and nodded his head.

"Gotta think positive sometimes Ruby."

"Yeah, especially you. We have to be the positive ones: we're the only ladies here and every queen needs a just as energetic princess," Nora said to Ruby with a big smile that Ruby couldn't help but match even if her eyes still conveyed sadness.

"You're right Nora."

"Louder!"

"You're right!"

"Louder Ruby!"

"You're RIGHT!"

"Hey I'm trying to get some sleep!" they heard from the cockpit, the five erupting in laughter at the annoyance of Qrow Branwen.

* * *

About 10 minutes from the kingdom of Atlas, the Bullhead shook hard. Acadian got up and ran to the cockpit and looked at the beeping console while Qrow, woken from his slumber, looked out the co-pilot window.

"Fucking hell," Acadian said to himself as he hit a few buttons on the console and sat down in the pilot's chair, "What's going on Qrow?"

"Yeah, it looks about done."

"Gee, thanks for the update."

"Is there any power in it?"

"About 10% but it's dropping fast."

The Bullhead shook violently and began to tilt to the right. Acadian gripped the yolk and Qrow moved to the body of the ship to their young counterparts, who were now clinging to anything they could grab, including each other. Acadian fumbled for a headset and switched it over to the Remnant Air Radio channel, used to communicate with all air vehicles.

"Sir, we have no idea who you are, but you have put in coordinates to a private helipad. You need to turn your Bullhead around immediately or be subject to anti-aircraft fire."

"Oh shut up! We need to land ASAP! Starboard engine is gone due to enemy fire!"

"What enemy fire?"

"From Mistral numbnuts! We may go down real soon! I've diverted nearly all power to the port engine and using the aft and keel engines to try and balance this damn thing!"

"Confirm ship number."

"WHAT?!"

"Confirm the ship number now or be subject to AA-"

"Okay Okay! WNR-77194-N!" Acadian yelled into his headset, still struggling with the yolk as Ruby clawed her way to the cockpit and buckled into the co-pilot seat.

"The hell are you doing Ruby?!"

"Seeing if you need help! Do you?!"

"Uh…. Good question…" Acadian said to himself, looking around at the console and the labels he put on the buttons to help him out. Before he could give her a direction though his radio buzzed to life.

"This is the head of the Schnee Security Force. Atlas Kingdom has relayed your problem to us. Who all is on board?" the voice asked in a calm manner, causing Acadian to breathe and calm down as he struggled with the joystick.

"Two professors and four students."

"And names?"

"Fucking really?!"

"Sir, please, do not use-"

"This damn ship may go down and-"

"Is Weiss there?!" Ruby yelled into a headset mic before putting it on.

"Uhhhh… yes, her family is here to observe what is happening."

"Put her on a headset now!" Ruby ordered. Her and Acadian shared a look as she grabbed the yolk in front of her and wrenched it how Acadian had his wrenched. The two waited for what seemed like an eternity until a very familiar voice came over the radio.

"Who is this?"

"Weiss! It's Ruby!"

"Ruby?! Hang on!"

"No wait- Dang it!" Ruby said, anger flowing in her until she saw the kingdom of Atlas for the first time and was star-struck. The buildings were all nearly white and were covered in glass. Bullheads and smaller airships zipped around in the air while one large highway ferried cars to and from their destinations. The center of the capital city was a modern, futuristic delight on the eyes with multiple fountains, tech demos and shops around. To her right she saw a glimpse of the Atlas Academy, the center of which was a large white monolith that towered over the other buildings. Acadian pointed left and she saw in the distance houses, except they were normal houses. Rather, they were large mansions, full of hundreds of rooms and one that was tucked into a green hill was the largest of them all and had multiple buildings attached to it.

"Is that?"

"It is."

"You are clear to land WNR, land on the right helipad, understood?"

"Copy," Acadian said and the two directed the hurt Bullhead to the helipad, hoping it would make it. Acadian hit a few switches, trying to divert power and keep it aloft and thankfully, a few minutes later, the ship was able to hover then gently land on the helipad. Acadian exclaimed in relief and ripped his headset off, shaking his head and laying his head back. The others came to the cockpit and congratulated and thanked the two.

"Don't thank just me, I had a helluva co-pilot," Acadian said with a nudge to Ruby's arm, who smiled.

"Well this will be fun," Ren said as they gathered their bags.

"Yeah, let me go first," Acadian said.

"No, let me," Ruby said and hit a button to open the side of the Bullhead. Almost immediately Ruby zoomed out and tackled someone to the ground that exclaimed in anger and surprise.

"Ruby Rose get off me right now!" the young woman said, trying to push her teammate off of her as everyone else walked up with smiles.

"Weiss! I missed you so much!"

"Dust Ruby get off!" Weiss Schnee yelled, still struggling to push Ruby, who finally relented and got off her partner, a huge, goofy smile adorning her face as Weiss brushed her combat skirt off.

"Good to see you Weiss," Jaune said with a wave and a smile that she returned with a nod before shooting Qrow a look of anger and disgust.

"What is he doing here?"

"He helped us to get to Mistral," Nora answered.

"And who are you?" Weiss said, ignoring her friends and walking up to Acadian, who held his hand out.

"Professor Acadian Zaffre, good to meet you Ms. Schnee," he began, gently taking her hand in his and shaking it, "Is your sister in by chance?"

"No she left a few days ago. How do you know Winter?" she asked, everyone but Qrow looking at Acadian with curiosity.

"She was my commanding officer at the Atlas Academy," Acadian said with a shrug, "Shame she's not in, haven't seen any of my old friends… well, technically we just did, but-"

"Okay," Weiss said curtly, holding a hand up to Acadian, "I'm going to stop your rambling right there," shocking Acadian as she turned to her friends, "Who is he?"

"A friend of her uncle," Ren responded.

"Oh joy. You know my father is mad at you guys?"

"Yeah, well, he's going to be really mad in a minute," Qrow said, walking by the heiress and into the large mansion.

"H-hey! You can't just barge in!" Weiss said, running after Qrow and thus Ruby and her friends gave chase of the two, leaving Acadian alone on the roof with a couple of Schnee Corporation men.

"Hey, would you guys mind fixing the starboard engine? The quicker you do the quicker we leave," Acadian said to the men, who looked at each other and shrugged.

"Sure."

"Hey, how did everything go in Mistral?"

"Army repelled the attack if you can believe it. Casualties everywhere and really bad in the army, but they made it through," the guard answered, Acadian nodding with a smile to them as they walked off and he left to enter the mansion and took in the pristine, elegant, practical perfection of the place. The hallway he entered was stark white with only a few doors and was adorned with pictures of various family members and small tables with smaller pictures and plants. Acadian walked down it at a regular pace with his bag flung over his shoulder, using the quiet time to calm himself down after having to pilot a heavily wounded ship. As he walked he noticed a few doors and couldn't help but look in them: one of them was a very large office with a whole wall being a window that looked out into the capital itself.

It was the second room that caught his attention the most however because of a picture he saw on a dresser. He looked down the hall to make sure no one was coming and slipped into the bedroom. It copied the stark white walls of the hallway but had an elegant bed and frame, something you would see from a typical rich person house, along with a matching light blue carpet, dresser and nightstand. It was the picture on the dresser that drew him into the room: a young Weiss Schnee in a simple dress, holding a stuffed animal with a big smile on her face. Acadian picked up the framed picture and smiled at it and looked up at himself in the large mirror. He turned his head slightly in curiosity because of something he saw in the mirror: a small corner of paper sticking out from behind the frame. He flipped the frame over and undid the hooks holding the picture of Weiss in, removed the back and slid the paper out, making sure not to curl or damage it. He turned it around and gasped slightly at what he was now staring at.

"Oh my God… she kept it," he said, a small smile coming to his lips as he began to take in the details of the picture until his reminiscing was interrupted.

"What. Do you think. You are doing?!" Weiss Schnee bellowed, freezing Acadian in place and let the paper slide out from his hands before he quickly put it back in the frame behind the picture of Weiss.

"Well, if you must know-"

"I don't even want to know y-you… you freak!"

"Hey I take offense to that," Acadian said, turning to Weiss, "I just wanted to see-"

"Just please leave," Weiss said, shaking her head as Acadian held his hands up and walked out with Weiss hot on his tail, mumbling under her breath, "Such a disgusting, lowlife-"

"Wow, you really are presumptuous are you? Glad to see certain Schnee traits stick around," he said with a grin, Weiss now looking at him with sheer annoyance.

"Well, I can't help it when I see a stranger going in my sisters room and start rummaging through her things!"

"Again, I'm not a stranger and I was mainly seeing-"

"What? What were you seeing?"

"Well, if you let me talk," Acadian said, stopping and turning to Weiss, who looked annoyed. A minute passed and suddenly she moved her hand to urge Acadian on.

"Oh, sorry. No, I gave your sister a gift when I graduated and wanted to see if she had kept it. I was just curious. Honest truth. I apologize for coming off as a creep."

Weiss stared at him for a minute before walking off, Acadian now hot on her heels.

"Yup, no response, just the glare and storm off, all sounds really familiar," Acadian said, further annoying Weiss as she rolled her eyes. The two joined everyone else in the large dining room: Qrow was looking out a window and Mr. Schnee stood with him while Weiss's friends stood at the other end of the table. Weiss walked over to her friends, Ruby quickly joining her side, as Acadian joined the two men without saying a word.

"-and I'm telling you there's no way I'm letting my daughter go back there."

"Mr. Schnee-" Qrow started to rebuttal but the patriarch shook his head.

"I don't want to hear it Mr. Branwen, my daughter is not going back to Vale, simple as that."

"Even if it meant saving Remnant?" Acadian asked, the two turning to him.

"Sorry I didn't see you there. Crius Schnee," the man said in a deep voice, holding his hand out for Acadian to shake, which he did. His white mustache matched his short hair and his suit, which were all properly cut and folded respectively.

"Pleasure sir, Professor Acadian Zaffre. We need your daughter."

"No, you don't, you can get other Hunter teams to help out over there or track down these ruffians, she is not leaving this house, pure and simple."

Before Acadian could go off on Mr. Schnee however Qrow pushed him to the side and handed him a drink, which he downed quickly.

"He's steadfast."

"He's annoying," Acadian said, launching a glare at him then at Weiss, "Both get it from their father," he continued, causing Qrow to laugh loudly. Acadian couldn't help but chuckle as he poured himself another drink and took a deep breath.

"I'll see what I can do with Mr. Pompous, you call in your favor to help Yang, okay?"

"Good luck," Qrow said, patting Acadian on his shoulder before leaving everyone. Acadian looked at the elder man who had returned to looking at the city and walked over to him, drink in hand.

"I remember this city so well… man I missed it."

"From here?"

"No, military."

"Really?"

"Yup."

"And you think this connection is going to help how?" Mr. Schnee said with a grin that Acadian matched as he took a sip of his drink.

"Well seen Mr. Schnee."

"I'm no fool Mr. Zaffre and I've been in business my whole life, I know what people try and do, I've seen it all. My daughter is not going back to that shit-hole."

"It's only like that because of what happened."

"Which says a lot about Vale's security."

"Ignoring that for a minute," Acadian said, his voice getting a bit louder to show his annoyance, Crius Schnee not budging at the show, "I understand your concern, but-"

"Oh, so you have a daughter?"

"Well, no but-"

"Then Mr. Zaffre you do not understand my concern, my worry, my trepidation to send her back to that kingdom. I will not let either of my children die."

"Even if it meant that Remnant would be saved? Our whole planet could be saved but you are being so selfish-"

"So it's selfish that I want my daughters to live?" Mr. Schnee asked, Acadian taking a deep breath to calm himself before he impaled the patriarch of the family on his blade.

"What I'm saying is this and please for the love of God let me finish," Acadian said, setting his glass down on the windowsill to give his full attention to Crius, "We need team RWBY. They are, more or less, the heart of Beacon right now because of their energy, how they fight and how they carry themselves. People look up to them. They are the hope people need to see to try and turn the tide against the Grimm. That team is nothing without your daughter. Put yourself aside for a moment and think like this: wouldn't you want future generations not have to worry about the Grimm? I don't need your daughter," Acadian said, placing a hand on Mr. Schnee's shoulder and slightly turned it so he could see what Acadian was witnessing: Weiss with her friends, all smiling and exchanging stories, "they do. Don't do this to them."

Crius Schnee watched the scene and looked down at his drink and swirled it slowly. He raised his eyebrows and thought for a minute before looking at Acadian.

"I may do damn well as I please Professor Zaffre. Now, as soon as your airship is repaired, I ask that you leave. Find other Hunters to help, I'm sure you have plenty of friends that can," and with those stern words he left the room, leaving a frustrated Acadian who walked over to the teenagers and listen in.

"-and then this big Alpha came out of nowhere!"

"And then Ren-"

"Oh you should've seen-"

"One at a time guys!" Weiss said with a smile to her friends before the four looked at Acadian, causing Weiss to turn and her body language changed completely when she saw him.

"Oh, you."

"Weiss."

"What's up with you two?" Ruby asked.

"She got mad because-"

"He was going through my sister's things!"

"Acadian, you're supposed to do that at night," Nora said with a wink, Acadian, Jaune and Ruby giggling at the remark while Weiss looked with added furor.

"It's not a joke!"

"Hey, I did apologize," Acadian retorted and Weiss snorted, rolling her eyes as Acadian leaned back to address everyone, "And I hate to say it but this will be it for you Weiss."

"What do you mean?"

"I was told to get your team back together but your father won't let you leave with us," Acadian said, pursing his lips as he waited for the response. Team RNJR looked deflated and didn't know how to respond and Weiss looked hurt, something that shocked Acadian because of how she had acted toward him. In Weiss he could see bits of Winter, mainly the drive to go against the family standards and do her own thing. Weiss looked down, placed a hand on the back of a chair and sighed.

"What do we do?" Ren asked.

"We move on to Vale," Acadian answered quietly, "For now we wait for them to fix the engine, shouldn't take long with the tech advancements here."

A few hours passed and Acadian had left the teenagers with each other to look around the mansion, who really couldn't say or do much to alleviate the news to the point that Weiss had left her friends by themselves in the dining room.

"This isn't right," Ren said.

"Yeah, but what can we do?" Nora asked.

"Could go and talk to her dad," Jaune said, speaking up.

"That won't do anything," Ruby said, sighing and punching the table in frustration, "This isn't fair at all."

They talked for a few minutes more, trying to think of certain ways to get Weiss to come with them in any way possible. Their conversations were stopped by Acadian, who had his bag on his shoulder.

"Bullhead's fixed, ready up," he said with no emotion. They grabbed their bags and moved through the house back to the roof, where security forces, the Bullhead and Mr. Schnee waited.

"Well, uh, thanks for fixing up my ship and for letting us land, much appreciated Mr. Schnee," Acadian said, holding his hand out to the man as the team boarded the ship.

"Of course. I just hope I won't see you for a while Professor Zaffre. Good luck on your endeavors against the Grimm," he said, gripping and shaking Acadian's hand, who nodded and boarded the Bullhead, moving to the cockpit that was already occupied by Ruby.

"You okay?" he asked her and got a shaking head as a response, "It'll be okay Ruby, we'll get her later."

"I hope… so…" Ruby said, looking down into the hallway, drawing Acadian's attention. He looked but couldn't help but grin at what he saw: Weiss Schnee running towards them, carrying a bag and Myrtenaster. Their looking got the guards and Mr. Schnee's attention, who turned and looked furiously at his daughter.

"Weiss! What do you think you are-WHOA!" he yelled as Weiss suddenly shot forward, a line of ice following her and when she clambered onto the Bullhead raised ice around it as her father called for security to grab her.

"Get us out of here now!" she yelled and Acadian punched the throttle, the ship responding with a hard lift-off that flung everyone back except Acadian and Ruby. The sounds of various screams that was a mixture of fury and anger left them as the five inside cheered and hollered, smiles on all of their faces. Acadian punched in the autopilot and left the cockpit with Ruby in tow to her friend.

"Holy shit Ms. Schnee, I give you a lot of credit," Acadian said with a grin that she matched.

"Thank you."

"Weiss that was sooooo awesome!" Ruby exclaimed, wrapping her arms around her friend. Soon Ruby was joined by her others friends, who gave Weiss a loving and laughable group hug as she struggled against the un-wanted contact. Acadian couldn't help but smile at the five of them, knowing that things were going to be a lot different with Weiss on. He came back from his thoughts at the sound of one of the headsets going off to let him know that someone was contacting him. While Weiss continued to struggle and yell, even calling for Acadian's help which he promptly ignored, he moved to the cockpit and put the headset on.

"WNR-"

"It's Qrow."

"Oh hey Qrow, what's up?"

"Hearing over the radio the crazy chatter about what happened in the manor. Make sure to give Weiss my regards."

"Will do, anything else?"

"I'm following behind you guys, got a few friends with me to help Yang out. After that they're heading back to Atlas."

"Copy that, safe flying."

"You too."

* * *

"God damn that stupid son of a bitch and his stupid friends!" Crimson yelled in anger. Right after Acadian and his friends took off he went into a great rage, yelling and killing a few Grimm that littered the airfield. The attack on the kingdom had failed as had the attack on their former teammate. The five of them were now in Salem's world once again, Mercury and especially Emerald looking nervous as Yura and Nadia went about their business.

"We should've had his ass!" Crimson continued, screaming into the empty air.

"There's always next time Crimson, we have time," Yura said, trying to calm down his friend, but was instead met with a glare.

"We should've had them there!"

"It is fine Crimson Sayre," Salem said, appearing seemingly out of nowhere and walking over to him, laying a milk-white spiny hand with long nails on his shoulder, "You now know how they fight, use that knowledge. Meanwhile, we must now spring a friend from a prison."

"You mean Cinder?" Emerald asked and was met with a deathly stare from Salem.

"Yes," she said quietly, walking away from Crimson, who stared at Emerald.

"Crimson, I-I," but before she could finish Crimson was on her, a hand around her throat.

"You dare disobey me… twice?"

"I-I'm sorry!"

"Oh I know you are," he said, throwing her to the ground and staring down at her, "You see, you two are not the first two we recruited. It was first Cinder, and then an associate of hers," he said, motioning behind him for Mercury and Emerald to look and saw a familiar person.

The short female carried a pink parasol and wore a white jacket with pink collars and cuffs that ended after her breasts, the rest of her mid-section covered by a brown shirt that showed off a bit of her hips. A belt and dark pants complimented her look along with white boots that ran up to her knees that contrasted her stand-out feature: brown, pink and white hair with matching eyes.

"Neo?" Mercury asked and was met with a curt nod.

"She wants revenge for Roman's death," Nadia said, though no one paid her any attention as Neo stepped forward.

"Glad to see you two," she said sweetly with a smile, shocking both Mercury and Emerald.

"Shit you can talk?" Mercury asked non-chalantly.

"I can, but I prefer not to… but I have to right now because of you," she said, looking at Emerald.

"Neo, please-"

"Ruby Rose killed Roman and you want to reach out to her?"

"How… How did you know?"

"Salem showed me what happened, we watched the assault through a portal… who do you think you are?" she asked Emerald, who stood up with anger.

"I think I'm someone that thinks this is all crazy! I think that I'm-AHHH!" she screamed as Crimson stepped forward and thrust both of his blades into her, breaking through her aura easily, one blade piercing her stomach as another punctured a lung.

"Dead, I believe, is the answer," Crimson said, moving close to Emerald so only she could hear, "And you are the weak link. Don't worry, I'll make sure to tell everyone what happened to you."

Crimson stood still with a cringing, crying Emerald before kicking her off his blades, her body sprawled on the ground as Crimson strode up to her with Neo to his right. He took his blades and jammed them into Emerald's stomach while Neo took her own out and stabbed Emerald's chest. Her red eyes went wide at the pain but everything quickly faded to black as the thief's soul left her body. Crimson flung the blades to clean the blood off before sheathing them and turning to Mercury, who watched the whole incident with no emotion even though his heart pounded his chest.

"You may leave with no scratches or help us. Choose."

"I… I'll stay."

"Good choice," Crimson said, moving back to Emerald's body and taking her pistols, looking over them and grinning, "We train for a few days so that Neo can get used to us. I have a feeling about what Acadian wants to do. Let's surprise him."

* * *

 **Death death and more death. Such joy. In good news, hey, this one is on time and on top of that I wrote two chapters in one day yesterday, so yay that! The story is progressing along really well and I can't wait for you guys to see the rest of what I have planned! As of right now, I'm starting to think this will end up in the early to mid 20s chapter count wise. Anyway, hope you guys had an awesome week and I'll see you next week! And if you love it, fav, follow or review!**


	11. New Additions and Old Acquaintances

Chapter 11

The flight to Vale was fun for all on board the Bullhead because for the first time in nearly a week everyone was lively. Along the way they had stopped in Mistral to not only refuel but to check on the capital and to let Weiss see the eastern kingdom. The refuel didn't take too long at all and what the Schnee guards told Acadian was right: somehow, someway, the soldiers of Mistral and various Hunters had held off the Grimm threat, even though the army had suffered massive casualties. A makeshift memorial had already been set up and everyone on the two ships paid their respects.

"So what do you think of Mistral Weiss?" Ren asked her.

"Eh."

"Eh?!" Acadian exclaimed, laughter coming from Ruby, Nora and Jaune as they returned to the airship to keep going. Weiss and Acadian traded verbal jabs with each other, something to the delight of RNJR until they landed in Patch 40 feet away from the Xiao Long residence. Ruby raced to the bay door but was stopped by Acadian.

"Whoa, hang on Ruby."

"Why?!"

"Your house is in a wooded area and with everything in the world happening, Grimm might be around."

"So we charge out and take care of them," Weiss said with a shrug but was met with stern eyes from Acadian.

"No. Jaune, help me out," he said while unslinging his assault rifle and pressing the stock against his shoulder, "Open the door a little and then when I say 'now', throw it open, got it?"

"Why not just-"

"I'm not letting you guys go out there when we might get jumped by Grimm. Jaune," Acadian said and Jaune nodded, opening the door slightly and Acadian aimed down the sights on his rifle. He waited a few seconds, his finger staying on the trigger, before relaxing a little and taking a deep breath.

"Now," he said to Jaune, who flung the door open and Acadian jumped out, turning in place, aiming down his sights and looking around, only stopping when he saw Qrow looking at him in confusion and disappointment.

"What?"

"What the hell are you doing kid?" Qrow asked with the two scientists in tow, both carrying a large box between the two of them. The rest of the team had gotten out and were now looking at Acadian, who slung his assault rifle and rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, if you must know-"

"Actually, I don't, come on," Qrow said with a cocky grin to Acadian, who rolled his eyes, lightening the mood of everyone as they strode to the wooden abode, where Qrow knocked on the front door and waited with everyone else. Quickly the door shot open and Qrow couldn't help but grin at the blonde man that looked at him with anger that quickly changed to shock and happiness as a flash of red came forward and wrapped her arms around his waist. Taiyang Xiao Long wore his normal gear: black shoes, dark brown shorts, a tan short sleeve shirt with a red collar, brown leather vest, a metal spaulder on his right shoulder, a brown leather brace on his right hand and arm that didn't cover his tattoo and a red band of cloth wrapped around his left arm. His blue eyes relaxed, he bowed his head so everyone could only see his the top of his blonde hair and could not see the tears he strained to hold back as he kissed the top of his daughter's head.

"Hi dad," she said, burying her face into his chest that couldn't help but bring a smile to the elder Hunter's face.

"Hi Ruby," he whispered, rubbing her back and lifting his head up slightly so she could look up at him and receive a kiss on her forehead from her father. He took a deep breath and looked at everyone else, exuding a lighter mood that changed only slightly when he saw Qrow again.

"Thank you for watching over her Qrow."

"Of course Tai, any good uncle would. It wasn't just me though," Qrow said and moved his head to the right, motioning to Acadian, who stepped forward with his hand out.

"Acadian Zaffre, combat professor at Haven Academy, pleasure sir."

"Taiyang Xiao Long, combat professor at Signal Academy, same to you and thank you," Taiyang responded with his slightly light voice, gripping Acadians hand and shaking it.

"Hey anytime, I'm used to looking over teens. Just another day in the office, you know?"

"Oh I know," Taiyang said, the two sharing a smile as Taiyang looked at Ruby's friends.

"Pleasure to finally meet you all too. Come on, I think there's someone here that's going to love seeing you guys."

Everyone walked in and took in the simplicity of the house: a simple but spacious living room with an inviting fireplace and a large couch, a perfectly sized dining room for three or four people and decor that matched the paint on the walls that invoked warmth throughout the house. While Acadian took in the humble abode Ruby moved by him with her friends on her tail as they walked to a room that Ruby knew very well with a person she desperately wanted to see. She stopped in the doorway and couldn't help but smile at the person lying in bed in the guest room, looking out the window. Everyone behind Ruby looked wide-eyed with smiles and the group waited until Yang turned, who looked in shock at everyone, tears coming to her eyes as she fully turned her body to her friends and her sister.

"Guys? R-ruby?" she said and Ruby sprung forward, wrapping her arms around her sister and held her tightly, the two sharing a tender moment as their friends stepped into the room and took in the bleakness of it.

"Ruby, I-I'm so sorry. I s-should've been-"

"Shhh Yang, it's okay," her little sister said with a smile on her face, petting Yang's long golden locks for only a few moments before Yang pulled back, wiped her eyes and smiled at her friends.

"Hey guys," she said and was immediately met with a rush of four people who couldn't be happier to see their friend, especially after the horrific injury she suffered. Yang was painfully reminded of it with each hug she gave, not being able to fully embrace them as she wanted to.

"Oh man Yang, we have so many stories to tell you."

"That so Rubes?"

"Yeah, Weiss gave her father the middle finger," Nora said with a grin and nudge to Weiss, who couldn't help but smile at the compliment.

"Whoa Ice Queen, didn't think you had it in you."

"Yeah, well, sometimes you have to be extreme to get a message across."

"Oh, you have to meet our new friend," Jaune said, which confused Yang greatly.

"You guys went ahead and replaced me? Come on guys, I know I can't be much of a helping hand-"

"Really Yang? Weiss asked, everyone groaning as Yang couldn't help but have that lovable, cocky grin that everyone missed, especially Ruby. As the group continued to talk, Acadian stood in the living room with Qrow and Taiyang, discussing plans.

"So I get to see my daughter for a few minutes and then she's gone, again?" Taiyang said with a look of annoyance he did not want to hide. He was seated on a reclining leather chair and across from him was Qrow in a smaller, woven wooden chair that Acadian was standing behind.

"Look, Tai-"

"Don't Qrow, because I had to deal with you talking to her in private for some damn reason you never gave, I had to deal with you saying 'oh, she's fine, with a friend' and not give me any damn details and now I get my family back together and you want both of my daughters to leave. Did you expect this talk to go well?" he asked and right as Acadian was about to say something Qrow elbowed him.

"Taiyang, listen to me. Oz always talked about how important their team is, he knew they were special. What we're facing now is out of hand and they have the most experience fighting these guys. We need them."

"Just to pipe in right quick," Acadian began, ignoring a glare from Qrow, "From what I've seen, they are the best team of Hunters available. We need a team like that to get the CTT back online. And to be real for a minute, they need each other right now more than ever," Acadian said, slowing his speech down at the last sentence to add emphasis. Taiyang looked at the young professor and rubbed his temples as Acadian moved over to Taiyang and crouched so he was eye level with him.

"I don't know what it is like to have children leave, have loved ones pass on but I do understand your worry and the trepidation. Thing is... we need them, Remnant needs them, their friends need them and they need each other," he said. Taiyang looked at him, ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

"I hope you two know what you're doing."

"Eh, kinda," Acadian said with a shrug and smile that made Taiyang roll his eyes.

"I see you're rubbing off on this kid Qrow."

"Can't help it," Qrow said with a nudge of his foot to Acadian, who nodded in agreement.

"Just keep them safe, all of them."

"Will do Tai but we're not leaving just yet, I have a surprise for Yang. Come on Acadian," Qrow said, confusing Taiyang as Qrow stood and motioned to the two scientists who had been standing to the side and waiting. Acadian stood with his friend and followed him to the guest room, where stories were being exchanged. Qrow walked in with a smile and walked over to his niece, giving her a hug.

"How you doing Yang?" he asked.

"A lot better Uncle Qrow," she said with a smile.

"I told you didn't I?"

"You came a lot sooner then expected."

"Yeah, well, certain things forced our hand."

"I've heard," she said with a knowing smile to Qrow before leaning over and seeing a stranger in her doorway, who gave her a warm smile and a nod.

"Professor Zaffre I think?" she asked and everyone turned to the Hunter in the doorway, who stepped forward and patted Yang's shoulder.

"Pleasure Ms. Xiao Long," he said before motioning to the scientists now in the doorway, "We can chat later, these fine gentlemen want to help you out."

"Help with what?"

"You'll see," Qrow said.

* * *

Two hours went by with relative silence, bits of idle chatter being exchanged between everyone as they waited. Both Qrow and Acadian refused to tell them what was going on with Yang, instead telling them the outline of their plan for when they got to Vale: find Blake, attack the CCT and then protect repair crews until they were finished, no matter how long it took.

"Even if it takes a year?" Ren asked Qrow after he and Acadian had gone over everything.

"Trust me it won't, at most it should be a few weeks to a month thanks to the help of Hunters, from you guys to professors."

Before Jaune could ask a question they all turned around to the scientists leaving Yang's room, one of which walked up to Qrow, pulled him to the side and talked to him in a very low voice for a few seconds before they shook hands and the two walked out. Qrow turned to everyone with a knowing smile then looked past them and down the hall at a figure approaching them as the sounds of an engine starting up entered the house.

The figure was Yang, who was wearing her special Hunter outfit and had a devilish grin on her face then rotated her shoulders to draw attention to the new addition: her right forearm was seemingly restored and looked as if it had never been cut from her body.

"Whoa! Yang, how?" Ruby asked with a smile as Yang winked at her and held up her finger. The right forearm began to change: bands of gold-tinted steel came from the underside of her forearm, wrapped around and locked into place, completely covering her forearm. The lines that showed where the steel did not meet were lit neon-yellow and around her wrist popped up a familiar sight: Ember Celica, though much thinner but seemingly backing more of a punch thank to more barrels. Her hand had become a claw that she moved and clinched, the whole display leaving everyone in awe of her, the room being silent until Acadian spoke up.

"Holy hell."

"Right?!" Yang exclaimed and excited conversations began between everyone, including her father and sister questioning her on it. Acadian strode over to Qrow and leaned against the wall before looking at him.

"How the hell did you afford that?"

"No way in hell I can. I saved those two from a Grimm attack years ago and I called in the favor they owed me."

"Looks really good."

"Yeah, it's good to have my real niece back," Qrow said with a smile that Acadian had never seen before: one of love and warmth, a familial love that ran deep. Acadian patted his shoulder and joined a conversation between Weiss and Ren while Qrow observed.

* * *

"So, what now?" Yang said as she boarded with her own travel bag an hour after revealing her arm. With Taiyang's blessing they had all gotten their things and boarded, ready to head to Vale.

"Now, Vale and Blake," Acadian said, stopping Yang in her tracks to stare at the professor, who returned the look in utter confusion, "Uhhhhh… Yang?"

"I-I'm sorry, just blanked out," she said, shaking her head then walking over to the other open bay door to look out at the forestry. Acadian turned to Ruby and Weiss, his cocked eyebrow conveying a question but both shrugged their shoulders. He was met with a similar response from Jaune and his team, forcing Acadian to drop it and head to the cockpit, where Qrow was already seated in the co-pilot's chair. As Acadian started the ship off and they took off, with Taiyang seeing them off and waving goodbye, Ruby walked over to her sister, who now leaned on the closed bay door and leaned with her.

"What's wrong Yang?"

"Nothing Ruby."

"Yang-"

"I just… I just don't know what I'm going to say or do when I see Blake."

"What do you mean?"

"She abandoned me… us. She abandoned us instead of sticking around and helping you or I out. I'm just, ugh," she said, shaking her head as Weiss came over.

"I couldn't agree more Yang, but, she is still our teammate and more importantly our friend. Don't forget that," the heiress said, patting Yang's shoulder, the blonde nodding her head. Jaune, Ren and Nora stayed to themselves, chatting about going back to Vale and their schoolmates. Very soon the ship landed near the town center and everyone disembarked at once this time, Acadian having learnt his lesson from Patch, and took in the dilapidated and depressing scene. Scores of buildings abandoned, destroyed, broken glass strewn on the ground, light coming only from the moon and an eerie quietness moved with the group as they made their way to town center, all of which was accompanied with a fog that hung around everything. Their steps echoed off the buildings but were soon replaced with sounds of talking, running, playing and overall something no one expected: happiness. The group got a slice of the living conditions as they came upon a guard post. They first spotted the large, spewing fountain in the middle and saw around it scores of people and street lights that shined brightly on the people. Mixed in with the people were Hunters, whether they be students, professors or graduated Hunters who were looking over weapons or talking. Before they could fully enter however they were stopped by armed soldiers at the guard post.

"Hold! Who are you?" a guard bellowed, aiming his gun at the group. Qrow stepped forward and looked the guard dead in the eye.

"Do you really have to ask that?"

"Yes I do," the guard said and flicked the safety off.

"Qrow?!" they heard a woman scream and everyone looked to a woman with a black cape, thin ovular glasses, blonde hair in a bun, a white long-sleeved shirt that showed some of her chest that tightened near the wrist, a black business skirt and matching boots.

"Glynda?"

"Professor Goodwytch!" Ruby yelled at the woman who strode over to the guards with a furious expression that made the guards shake in their boots.

"What are you idiots doing?!"

"M-Ma'am, these strangers-"

"They're not strangers they are professors and students! Let them in now!"

The two soldiers stepped to the side as quick as they could with a salute, allowing the group to pass into the courtyard that was the new home of Vale.

"It's really good to see you Glynda," Qrow said with a smile to the Huntress who returned it with a smile that was relived, stressed and angry all in one.

"It's good to see you too. Still have his cane?"

"Of course."

"Good," she said before looking at the assembled students and smiled at them, "It is very good to see you all again," she said. Ruby rushed forward and hugged Glynda, who looked very awkward with the fifteen-year-old around her but accepted it and other hugs before turning to the new face.

"And you are…?" she asked, becoming irritated very quickly because he was staring dead ahead and ignoring her.

"Acadian?" Qrow asked, stepping over to the young man and placing a hand on his shoulder that was aggressively shrugged off, "Hey, the hell Acadian?"

Qrow stood behind Acadian and realized who Acadian was staring at but right as he was about to grab him to hold him in place Acadian took off, his hand on the hilt of his blade, the voices of his friends trailing behind him as he pushed past people. His eyes never left the figure of the man that had screwed him over, that had ruined his social life and a very personal and romantic relationship. That man wore the same clothes he had years ago: white petticoat that covered a blue vest, red tie, white gloves and white pants that covered his grey boots. The only addition was the grey at his temples, something Acadian noticed as his target turned and looked wide-eyed at the Hunter while reaching for his gun. At this point Acadian had fully drawn his sword and threw in a blue Dust crystal into the circular part of his blade.

"IRONWOOD!" Acadian exclaimed, holding his blade up and leapt into the air, his eyes like daggers at the general of the Atlas army. Ironwood had drawn his pistol but was holding it sideways to block the incoming attack. Acadian swung and was surprised when his blade met another blade, stopping his momentum and allowing him to plant his feet on hard pavement. When he looked at the owner of the second blade all of the pent-up rage he had held in himself over the years washed away, his features softened and he ever so slightly lowered his blade.

The owner of the other blade had hair as white as snow in a bun with a large bang covering her right, light-blue eye. Her pale skin complimented her clothing, which was a unique white trench coat with long sleeves that were slit at the shoulders down to her elbow along with a collar that was connected with a unique pin. It covered a white shirt that was worn under a blue vest, both of which were tight that drew some attention to her chest. The coat was connected by one golden button at her midsection and flared out to show her white slacks and her metal grey boots that came to the middle of her thighs and had three inch heels. Behind her legs was a light, white flowing under cloth much like the purple one Yang was wearing and her black-gloved hand relaxed when she looked into his light-green eyes.

"Winter?" he said quietly, trying to move slightly closer to her but was met with a solid kick to his chest, sending him two feet back and stumbling him, his rage coming back as Winter Schnee readied herself for combat.

"Acadian the deserter."

* * *

 **Literally me on Friday:**

 **Oh man, the new season of RWBY looks great!... oh there's a time skip? Knew it! Oh and new outfit-oh fuck, damn it, God damn it... fuck! Just fuck!**

 **Anyways, so, new season does look great, can't wait for October 22nd. I will also say that I'm gonna switch Ruby and Weiss to the new outfits in chapter 15, but I will switch to Blake's next chapter... fucking RoosterTeeth, damn it... anyway, the story I believe is progressing nicely and I really like how it is unfolding. Man, Chapter 14 is a quite a bit, I love it! I've also decided that if and when I finish I will try and push the chapters out quickly, for example like 2 or 3 a week if I can. I'm gonna have more time to write so here's to that. Anyway, next week is getting Blake back and a huge fight that, legit, I've wanted to write since I wrote the first word of this whole story. Can't wait for you guys to read it. I appreciate the support as always and apparently y'all are digging the story (holy crap, 255 views in one day?! That's a record for me! As is over 2,000 for the first 10 chapters!) I love you guys for the support, I really do, you guys legit keep me writing. As always, if you really like it, fav, follow and/or review! See you guys next week!**


	12. Lessons Learned

Chapter 12

Deserter and run-away. Those had been the words that had hung over Acadian since he was 17, in his mind and because of people he had met, especially his family, had used those words to label him. Acadian released a deep sigh and a large ring of people had circled around the three parties of interest: Ironwood was the farthest away with his pistol out, Winter closer at the ready and Acadian, who readied his sword and stared her down.

"Move Winter."

"No," she said, popping out her second, smaller blade and crossed both blades.

"I'm not going to hurt you."

"Well, this should be a quick fight then," she said, shooting forward but was easily parried by Acadian. She spun a step away and blocked a strike, allowing her to connect with a fist to his gut. Acadian feigned pain by doubling over, his plan working perfectly as Winter brought up a knee that he caught and then he grabbed her other leg and pulled her to the ground. Acadian got up but his opponent recovered and grabbed his foot, tripping him up and sending Solstice away from him. Acadian turned and kicked Winter's hand, causing her to accidentally throw her blade away and both got up, circling each other slowly before Winter lunged in with her smaller blade. Acadian dodged the strike, wrenched the blade from her, threw it on the ground and the two engaged in hand-to-hand combat. It was here that Acadian realized how outmatched he was: he, the former soldier and she, the current head of the Spec Ops arm of the Atlas Military. Acadian didn't last long as Winter moved around his punches, kicks and grapples and kept counter-attacking until she was able to easily throw him to the ground with force, leaving the professor groaning as she regained her weapons.

Winter moved forward with determination but was met with a kick to her knee. Acadian shot up at the opportunity and rushed at Ironwood with renewed vigor but as Ironwood brought his arms up to block him Acadian ran into a wall of ice that shot up in front of him, which he couldn't help but collide with. Acadian stumbled back, rubbing his nose and shaking the cobwebs in his head but was immediately floored and was now looking up at the night sky, a sword and the woman that he once called his CO.

"Stay down Zaffre," she gritted through her teeth as her wall of ice began to dissipate.

"Winter!" the two heard and turned to their friends, who had pushed their way to the front of the group.

"Branwen? Weiss?" she said at first with anger than with confusion. Acadian used her momentary lapse in focus and brought his knee up, connecting with the back of her thigh, stumbling her forward. Acadian got up again, caught a punch from Winter and kicked the back of her heel, tripping her again and infuriating her as he ran, grabbed his blade and turned to Ironwood, who was now aiming his pistol.

"James don't!" Glynda yelled as Winter recuperated and was furious.

"Is this how you've become Acadian!? Someone who wishes to keep running from the fight?!" she bellowed right as he began to inch towards the general but stopped in his tracks, "You run from your family, then your squad and now me?!"

Winter had a bit of a cocky smirk on her face, knowing that in a way, she had gotten inside her opponents mind. The look on her face changed when she saw the look that Acadian shot at her: not the old look of joy and content, not the look he had just a mere second of resolve and concentration. It was a look that made her take a step back: a look of hatred and anger, reflected by his harsh and quickened breathing.

"Oh no," Qrow said under his breath and ran out to Acadian, wrapping his arms around one of Acadian's arms, "Listen to me kid, let it go, just ignore her, come on! Don't do this Acadian!" he screamed but was easily thrown a foot away, something that shocked the group of students he had been watching over: Acadian was strong like any Hunter but he couldn't throw any of them with the ease that he had just thrown Qrow.

"Ah shit!" Qrow said, standing up and cupping his hands around his mouth, "EVERYONE! Close your eyes and cover your ears! DO IT NOW!" he yelled and ran to Ruby, making sure she and her friends did. Seconds filled with dread and intensity passed, Winter nor Ironwood taking heed of Qrow's instructions as the elder Huntsman made a mental note to thank Acadian later for giving him time to warn the innocent. Acadian closed his eyes and shot them back open, a seemingly black aura overcoming his body while his eyes bore into Winter. She looked at him in sheer horror and screamed in a panic, both of her weapons dropping to the wayside as she recoiled at what she saw. Acadian turned to Ironwood and the general did the same, running to try and get through the crowd in a panic but didn't get far as Acadian ran and grabbed him by the collar. James Ironwood struggled valiantly but couldn't stop the former soldier from turning him around, grabbing him by the throat, lifting him off the ground with ease and looking him dead in the face, growling as he spoke.

"Next time Ironwood, you will die by my blade."

With those solemn words Acadian threw him on the ground and was met with a hard grab around his arms, causing him to struggle until he heard a familiar voice.

"You've made your point Acadian, calm it down," Qrow said as Acadian continued to struggle until finally, after a tense minute, calming down and breathing deeply, the black aura around him disappearing and Qrow slowly letting go of his friend. He took a step back and shook his head as Acadian took another deep breath and kneeled down, running a hand through his hair as everyone turned and looked at him in curiosity. Weiss ran to Winter, who was very shaken and leaning against a light pole, and hugged her.

"Winter what happened? My God are you okay? You're shaking like crazy."

"Weiss, let me go… please."

"But Winter-"

"I'm fine Weiss!" Winter yelled before quickly regaining her composure and patting her sister's cheek, "What are you doing here? I thought you were still at home."

"…Acadian brought me," the younger sister began, "He's helping me reunite with my team."

"Weiss, listen to me," Winter said, looking in her sisters eyes and placing her hands on her shoulders, "Watch him closely."

"Why Winter? What did he-"

"Just listen Weiss. Acadian Zaffre is a man that knows how to hurt people close to him. Just be careful around him, please."

"I will Winter," Weiss said, shocked at what her sister was saying to her, "Are you sure you're going to be okay?"

"I will be. Go back to your friends, I need to check on the general."

Weiss looked at her sister with concern but was re-assured with a small smile before she walked away. Winter stood by herself for a minute to try and get what she had seen out of her head but simply couldn't. She didn't know how Acadian did what he did or where he learned it or if it was his semblance, but she never wanted to see it again. Acadian sheathed his blade, stood up and was met with a very angry off professor.

"You know how to make a horrible first impression Mr. Acadian! Give me one reason why I shouldn't kick you out to one of the villages this instant!" Goodwytch said, nearly yelling in his face as he turned to her with a grim expression.

"Yeah, guess I do and we're," he said, motioning to the students, "looking for Ms. Belladonna and could use all the help we can get. Now, unless you want to know what really happened, I suggest you cool off," Acadian said, darkness swirling his tone as he pushed past her and others while Winter checked on Ironwood, who was gripping his throat. Weiss ran behind Acadian and looked at the professor with resentment before pushing his arm, turning him around to face her.

"What the hell did you do to my sister?!"

"Weiss don't!" Ruby said loudly but was hushed by the heiress.

"Nothing you would want to see," Acadian said, his tone staying the same. He turned to walk away but was met with a hard tug and was now face-to-face with the heiress.

"You better tell me right now or-"

"OR WHAT?!" he bellowed, Weiss jumping back in fear as the darkness consumed Acadian again but was stopped by a sudden light presence. He looked down to see Ruby Rose hugging him tightly before feeling a hand on his back, turning to see Jaune Arc and his team looking with concern. Acadian closed his eyes, rubbed his forehead and sighed as he gently moved Ruby's arms away from around his waist, allowing him to move freely.

"I'm sorry," he said, looking at Weiss, "I didn't mean to lose my temper. Let's just get to their HQ and see if they can help us find Blake okay?" he said to the group, all nodding mostly in agreement but slightly in terror at the unknown that now surrounded the professor.

* * *

The group were led by a still angry Glynda Goodwytch to a building near the fountain that had seen its first floor expanded greatly and turned into an intelligence area. The town square itself had buildings stuffed to the brim with families and a soup kitchen to feed everyone, with supplies coming from the two downed Atlas ships and from local fishing.

"I honestly thought at first that Ms. Belladonna had left with one of you," Glynda began after grabbing a map and laying it over a large table for all to see, motioning to the three members of RWBY, "but then a report came out that someone had seen a female in black roaming around the outskirts. I dismissed it as maybe someone pulling a prank or it possibly being a Grimm but then the same report came in a week later and it has been that way ever since, once nearly every week."

The map focused on the town center and had multiple circles around it, each with a date and who had reported in the sighting. Acadian leaned over the table and examined the map closely before turning to the three teenagers.

"Okay," he said, his tone a bit lighter than before, "Why would Blake be on her own?"

"Well, she did run from us in our first semester," Ruby said before Weiss and Yang could shut her up.

"She did?" Ren asked.

"Why?" Acadian asked. The three members looked at each other, as if trying to communicate with their eyes, _What do we tell him?_

"Girls," Acadian said, his voice now having heavy hints of exhaustion in it, "Look, if we're gonna get your friend, we need to know everything. Now, why did she run?"

"I think it's because a member of the White Fang did this to my arm," Yang said quietly, motioning her head to her right arm, "She… she told us in confidence that she was a former member who had left to become a Huntress," she finished, Acadian and Jaune's team looking with surprise at the revelation.

"So… she's a faunus?"

"Feline."

"Interesting…" Acadian said, turning back to the map as the two teams came together, sharing light talk, which was mainly Jaune's team asking about Blake's affiliation. Glynda joined him and soon enough both were joined by Qrow, who stood next to Acadian.

"Why are the same areas circled?" Qrow asked.

"Multiple sightings in the same area."

"She's keeps doubling back," Acadian said, pressing his finger on the map and tracing it to the dates in order, "She's keeping an out eye for… something… what, I don't know."

"If you guys can predict her next area to check you can catch her," Glynda said while nodding.

"Yeah, well, that'll be in a few hours. I need some rest," Acadian said, rubbing his eyes and feeling a pat on the back from Qrow.

"Mr. Acadian, I don't think-"

"Look professor Goodwytch," he said, turning to her and looking her in the eyes, "I'm tired. I've had a very long 72 hours and a very long and tiring past 10 minutes. I would greatly appreciate it if my students and I could get a little bit of rest so that we can properly get their friend. Now, where can we sleep?"

Everyone looked at Acadian in slight shock for various reasons. Qrow knew that the real Acadian wouldn't be as rude and knew that his friend was suffering from what had happened, Glynda did not care for his attitude whatsoever and the students were shocked because he referred to them as 'his students', a term of endearment team RNJR had heard once before but all of them had varying levels of appreciation to the way he said it. Glynda closed her eyes in frustration, trying not to explode at the young Huntsman.

"Third floor has been empty for a little while. Take it," she said through gritted teeth and the students departed, thankful to finally have a solid bed to sleep on. Right as Acadian was about to leave Qrow stopped him, something the professor did not appreciate.

"What Qrow?"

"Calm yourself Acadian."

"So says the dru-"

"Look," Qrow said, not hiding his annoyance at the dig and pointing in his finger in Acadian's face, "I know you're tired, annoyed, hurt and everything else in-between. Two things: You better learn to deal with Ironwood because he is gonna be here to help organize everything and make sure everything is okay before he returns. And two, you need to set the example for them."

"Something you didn't do with Winter yourself."

"To be fair, only one niece saw that," Qrow countered, Acadian mentally cursing at himself before Qrow placed a hand on his shoulder, "Everything always turns out for the better Acadian, trust me."

With those words Acadian left the two elder professors and soon Glynda was left alone to look at the map. Acadian joined everyone upstairs, who quieted down when he entered the upper floor and looked. Acadian did his best to give a re-assuring smile, which was met with similar ones that quickly dissipated because as he set his stuff down on an unclaimed bed he felt a very familiar presence.

"What did you do to my sister?" Weiss asked quietly, trying to keep herself calm.

"I'll tell you another time," he said as he sat down on the edge of the bed and when he looked up his face was full of Schnee.

"No, you're going to tell me now!" she said.

"Weiss, let it go, come on," Yang said but was met with a stern finger from her teammate.

"No, I want to know what he did. I've never seen my sister so scared in her life and I don't appreciate someone that says he is her 'friend' terrifying her."

"Fine," Acadian said, holding his hands up, "You want to know?"

* * *

Qrow left the HQ and walked over to Winter and Ironwood, who were both seated and barely talking to each other. No one else was around two heads of the heads of the Atlas Military and both looked at Qrow with disdain.

"Why did you bring him?" Ironwood asked, rubbing the side of the neck.

"I needed help and so did my niece and her friends."

"And then decided to bring him here? Qrow-"

"Don't start Ice Queen. I'm not the one that decided to make it personal."

"I did no such-"

"Bullshit," Qrow said, before turning to Ironwood, "If I had to guess, you told her those things about Acadian, didn't you? Hell, those are things I didn't know and I've-"

"He told me in confidence," Winter said sternly, Qrow now looking at her with anger.

"So, in spite, you decide to use his-"

"You know what Qrow, I did, because-"

"ENOUGH!" Ironwood yelled, shutting the two up, who looked at the general as he stood, "Just make sure he doesn't do anything like that again Qrow. We can't have internal strife."

"Well jeez, maybe if I wasn't the one that fuc-"

"Enough Qrow," Ironwood said, silencing him. Qrow turned to Winter and crouched so that they were eye-level.

"What did you see?"

"What?"

"Him or your sister. What did you see?"

Acadian's semblance was complex and was devastating in his eyes, thus why he rarely used it, but sometimes he couldn't control himself. If he had built up enough aura, Acadian could concentrate it and create a radius around him, the more aura stored the larger the radius. The aura snuck into the minds of the people in the radius and if anyone looked upon him, they would each see something different but with a common theme: their worse, personal fears, which was more often than not the person they love or care for the most heavily injured and taunting them or asking questions. Winter looked away from Qrow, still trying to get the image that was burned into her out of her mind.

"Winter…" it had whispered to her, moving closer to her as Acadian had moved to the general, "Winter… look what you've done to me… all because you just wouldn't listen."

Winter had laid eyes upon someone she considered her first love, someone she had trusted, someone she saw herself with for the rest of her life. But it wasn't him at the same time: the man was riddled with bullet holes, stab wounds, was missing his right arm, blood ran down his face and had stained his clothes. What shocked her the most though were the eyes, well the one eye, because one was missing and the other, the light-green eye she had seen thousands of time, was crying blood. As Acadian Zaffre moved to Ironwood, the apparition of a heavily injured Acadian Zaffre had moved closer to Winter, horrified at what had seemingly happened to the man she once loved, though it was something she would never admit to seeing.

"It's none of your damn business Branwen."

"You know, I think he'll appreciate that answer," Qrow said, tucking his hands in his pockets and walking away.

"General-"

"Not now Schnee," Ironwood said, sitting back down, resting his elbows on his thighs and tucking his nose underneath his crossed hands, giving a 'deep in thought' vibe. In reality, Ironwood knew what was happening and realized that the plan he had started four years ago was unraveling and he would have to deal with the consequences soon.

* * *

 **So, I know I say it a lot, but man, I love you guys so much and I think it is really awesome how many people are reading this story; this has the most views, favs and follows between all of my stories by their 12th chapter. I cannot thank you guys enough and I love the support so much, trust me, it really means the world to me. Anyways, as I also said before, man I've been wanting to write that scene between Acadian and Winter! Awesome scene that I think came out great! I'll see you guys next Sunday as always with Chapter 13, so until then, stay safe and chill out guys! If you really like this story, please fav, follow or review! Much love!**


	13. Recovery

Chapter 13

After telling the group what his semblance was, which surprised them and meant he had to field their questions, they had all gone to bed, excited to go find Blake. But two hours had passed, the clock clicked past 1 AM and Acadian had found his way downstairs, not being able to get much sleep due to what happened. He dis his best to stay silent as he stepped onto the first floor and moved to the map that Glynda had put out earlier. He rubbed his tired eyes and looked at the map, shaking his head to stay awake as he traced the circles, trying to find the connection with his tired mind.

He did his best to focus but his mind wondered because of one emotion that was flowing through him: regret. Acadian had never properly shown off his semblance to anyone while he attended the military and Huntsmen Academy and felt horrible for putting Winter through that. She may have pissed him off for what she said but he still loved her and in his mind she didn't deserve it. His train of thought was thoroughly shot as he sharply gasped and looked right at Qrow, who had laid his hand on Acadian's shoulder.

"Shit on me Qrow," Acadian whispered, Qrow chuckling at his reaction, "The hell?"

"Just checking on you. Why are you up?"

"Couldn't really sleep. What about you?"

"Just making sure no Grimm come out," he replied, patting Acadian's back as the Hunter shook his head, "What's up?"

"I'm trying to find out the patter-"

"The real problem Acadian," Qrow said, stopping his friend, who looked at Qrow and thought about lying to him but realized that would get him nowhere.

"I feel horrible about using it."

"You can't."

"Oh I can and I do," Acadian said, walking away from the table and looking out a window at the quiet, brightly lit town center. Qrow shook his head and walked over to his young friend, keeping his distance and staying silent until a small grin came over him.

"You know… nah, never mind."

"Oh what Qrow?" Acadian said, turning to face the Huntsman.

"Ah it's nothing you would want to hear."

"See you're saying that shit on purpose because you know I'm a curious bastard and I want to know," Acadian said, stepping close to Qrow and poking him in the chest to add emphasis to his words.

"Well, I asked her what she saw, whether it was you or Weiss and she told me it was none of my damn business."

"Okay…?"

"Wouldn't she have easily said it was her sister?"

"Don't you think you're reaching Qrow?"

"No," Qrow said, beginning to walk away, "I'm trying to give you hope. Don't give up just yet Acadian."

With those words the elder Huntsman left the professor to himself, who went over what Qrow had said and couldn't help but have a small smile at the possibility that maybe, just maybe, Winter still cared about him. Acadian went back to the map with a renewed vigor. He sat down, traced where Blake might be next then thought on how to lure her in. He knew that she would be scared to come back, trepid with interaction because she was a loner and was probably blaming herself for certain things, so he had to think of something quick. He couldn't help but nearly laugh out loud as he ran up the steps to the third floor and woke the teenagers up from their slumber.

"Acadian… what is it?" Ruby asked in a very sleepy tone that matched the look of everyone else, with half-closed eyes and groggy groans.

"We need to move now if we are going to get Blake tonight. I know where and how," he said with a confident smile that was matched with blank stares, severely annoying him as he thought about how to wake them up. He went to his sword, put in a yellow Dust crystal and revved the blade. He kept the brake handle held so that the electricity coursed through the blade and ever so slightly poked each of them on their arm, sending jolts through them, waking them up and severely annoying them.

"Acadian!" Weiss yelled only to be met with a chuckle from the professor.

"Well, now that everyone is up, let's go get Blake."

"You know where she'll be?" Jaune asked, rubbing his eyes to wake up.

"Indeed."

"And how're we supposed to get her?" Nora asked, "She might just run when she sees us."

"We'll give her something she desperately needs."

* * *

A fisherman that Blake had been tracking for a few blocks walked through a back alley, cracking his neck as he walked. Two things had intrigued her about the figure, the first being that he was out and about at nearly two in the morning and secondly what he was carrying: a box of freshly caught fish. Blake's stomach growled loudly, something she cursed at, as she descended down the side of the building she had been standing on. His large boots squeaked on the ground and his water-proof jacket swayed as he walked eagerly, happy with the catch he had. Blake knew it was wrong to take the fish but she only needed one or two, just enough to quell her stomachs protests.

In the past couple of weeks Blake decided to ditch what she originally wore to Beacon mainly as a way to get rid of bad memories. She now sported black thigh high boots with a golden trim at the top, black leggings underneath, a white belt and small pouch on her left hip and a black crop top with a simple cross-over design to cover her chest. The biggest addition was the long white trench coat she now sported that was purple on the inside and reached down to her feet in the back but stopped at her waist in the front, which she really liked.

Slowly the sword part of Gambol Shroud became unsheathed and then she charged, closing the distance in a matter of seconds and brought the katana to the man's neck, the small spike pointed at his Adam's apple.

"Drop the fish and walk forward slowly," she whispered. Instead of being met with a cry for help, a question or a fight, she was instead met with a chuckle.

"Damn I love it when I'm right."

"What?"

"Hello Ms. Belladonna," she heard as the man dropped the box and immediately greeted him with a kick to his spine, launching him a few feet forward. He impacted the ground hard and before he could try to move he was met with pressure on his chest and a pistol aimed at his head.

"Who are you?! Did Adam send you?!" she exclaimed, shocking the rather young looking man, something she didn't expect. He raised his hands slowly and shook his head as Blake, keeping the pistol aimed at him, backed up to the box and picked up four fish.

"Blake," the young man said, taking the jacket off, revealing a shirt and vest combo with a tie, "Blake Belladonna," the use of her full name catching her off guard.

"Who are you?"

"I'm a professor and a friend. I've been watching over your friends."

"You mean… my team?"

"Yes."

"… I don't… I can't see them."

"Because of Adam?" Acadian asked, her eyes going wide at the mention of Adam Taurus,"I only know his name because you just said it. Is it because of the White Fang?"

"How do you-"

"They told me."

"How do I know they're safe? How do I know this isn't a ploy?" she said, tightening her grip on the pistol, slightly scaring the professor.

"It's not Blake," she heard behind her, twirling around and nearly dropping her weapon at the sight: her friends from Beacon and the one that, in her mind, she hurt the most, the one that had spoken up, Yang Xiao Long. Blake was frozen, allowing Acadian to get up and walk up to her, making sure his footsteps could be heard. He gently placed a hand on her arm and squeezed, a sign to her that he wasn't going to hurt her. She looked up and Acadian smiled at her, at least he hoped she could see that, as tears flooded her eyes and streamed down her cheeks before collapsing to her knees and sobbing loudly. Yang rushed to her and fell to her knees, hugging her partner as everyone else ran to their friend and embraced her. Acadian simply watched the display and stayed to the side, picking the box back up and gathering the fish that Blake had dropped. She was helped to her feet by her teammates, all three embracing her as they did.

"Don't worry Ms. Belladonna, you can have all the fish you want back at the safe area," Acadian said, chuckling at his own remark as they walked back to the town center. Finally, after nearly four months, team RWBY was back together.

* * *

Morning came and news of Blake being back spread around the remaining students from Beacon, who all came to see her. Acadian was on the balcony on the third floor sitting at a small table and looking at the map of the CCT, going over different reports that detailed Grimm activity in the area. He circled multiple points he saw as entry points and started to detail an attack plan until he was interrupted by someone clearing their throat. He looked up and saw Yang looking at him then down at the map he was looking at.

"Whatcha doing professor?"

"Working on a battle strategy. What's up?"

"Nothing," she said with a shrug, walking over and sitting down across from Acadian, who returned to his work. He was busy highlighting a sentence when he saw that Yang had turned the map to herself and was looking over handwritten notes.

"Who wrote on this map?"

"I did, why?"

"How the hell do you read your own handwriting?"

"The hell are you trying to say?! I can read it fine!" he said, turning the map to himself, a smirk on his face that was matching hers as he set his stuff down and looked at her.

"Just saying."

"Uh-huh. What's going on Yang?"

"Nothing."

"Yang."

"Nothing."

"What is it?" Acadian asked, getting a sigh from Yang in response.

"Thank you for watching my sister and our friends, I owe you a lot professor."

"You don't owe me anything," he said with a smile to Yang to try and lighten the mood, "Why did you really come up here?"

"I…I, uh… Can, can I show you?" she said and was met with a nod from Acadian, somewhat interested in her stuttering and nervousness. He hadn't known Yang nearly as long as her friends but he could see her personality as confident, strong, bubbly and always wanting people to smile. Seeing her like this confused him until they made it to the first floor and he saw her problem. Blake was talking to a few different students, Neptune was with a visually aggravated Weiss who was scolding him about various issues while Ruby, Jaune, Nora and Ren were reconnecting with their friends. The problem with the scene was Blake because right next to her was a student whose name he had heard in passing, Sun, who was very close to Blake and trying to hold her hand but she kept moving her hand away.

"Ah, monkey boy," Acadian said so only she could hear. She looked at him and nodded, retreating back up the stairs to the second landing, where Acadian met her seconds later.

"I didn't know you had romantic feelings for Blake."

"I don't! I just-"

"You just what? Why would that bother you?"

"... I don't know."

"Yang," Acadian said, placing his hands on her shoulders, "Come to terms with yourself."

Yang looked down then up at the professor, a look of lost filling her eyes as she wiped her eyes with her arm.

"I'm just confused, I just don't know. I thought when I saw her I would be so upset, so pissed, that I was going to yell at her, but then I saw her and… I mean, I've always liked guys and had boyfriends in the past but… I just feel such a deep connection with her."

"That's a good start. Tell me how," Acadian said with a smile, leading her to a small table where Yang told him tales of missions, how Yang revealed a lot to her during their second semester and vice versa, how she was blinded by fury when she heard Blake cry in pain after being stabbed, how she had been worried night and day while bed-ridden even though she couldn't do a thing. What she didn't tell him was how she was last night, practically by Blake's side the whole night, talking to her and catching up on everything the two had missed, including Blake asking about and Yang demonstrating her new arm, leading to an awkward silence between the two. All the while Acadian sat and listened, already knowing what was going on with Yang because he had been there before.

"Yang, you're in love with her. Or at least you've fallen for her. To be frank, I don't understand your confusion because I've always just gone after a woman if I liked her but you have strong feelings for her. So what if you also like guys? Life is strange, it's odd, it's a roller coaster and every day we try and discover new things about ourselves."

"Yeah but if Blake doesn't-"

"And if she doesn't she doesn't. But I would feel a lot better myself telling someone than keeping it all locked up."

"But Sun-"

"To be fair," Acadian said, patting her robotic forearm, "He kept reaching for her hand and I could tell she was very unsure about taking it. Just be upfront with her about it."

The two sat in silence for a minute, the room being filled with the joyous conversations that had abandoned Vale four months ago. Acadian waited, knowing that patience was something you needed with teenagers that were still discovering things about themselves. Finally Yang looked at him with a smile.

"Thank you. When should I tell her?"

"Hate to say it but I would wait until after the mission so that we can focus."

"Good point."

"How come you didn't want to tell Weiss or Ruby?"

"I needed a third party on the matter."

"Gotcha. Well, if you ever need anything else, come to me, okay?"

"Thanks professor."

"Please, just call me Acadian, I think I've lost that title, I'm sure by now I've been fired from Haven."

"Why, because you've been _on fire_ helping us?"

"… That was really, really bad."

"I know, I really need to up my pun game."

* * *

Later in the day everyone had gathered in the HQ around the large table which had the map that Acadian was looking at earlier splayed on it. It also had a special 3D projector so that everyone could see what was going on and get a proper feel for the battlefield and the plan. At the head of the table was Qrow and Acadian, who had called the meeting after going over the final details.

"Okay," Qrow began, "Acadian and I have been going over everything you guys have on the Grimm at Beacon and we think we have a solid plan to take it back."

"Qrow, we've looked at the plans before and we can't send any squads in, we're spread too thin," Ironwood interjected before Qrow could finish.

"That was true," Acadian said, giving the general a glare before returning to the crowd of Hunters, "However, with the addition of team RNJ, RWBY, myself and Qrow along with the leader of the Atlas Spec Ops, I believe there is enough men to spare for a strike on the CCT."

"Have any military personnel looked at the plan?" Winter asked and Acadian had to bite his tongue to stop himself from going off but smirked instead.

"Well, you and general Ironwood are looking at it right now aren't you?" he said. Winter rolled her eyes as Acadian motioned to Qrow.

"The plan is to launch a multi-team strike on the Grimm in the area. Two squads of soldiers accompanies up to four Hunter teams. I'll lead team RWBY while Acadian leads team RNJ. We need two volunteer teams and two volunteer experienced Hunters to lead the squads. Whoever wants to can come to Acadian and I and we'll determine who would be best. Basically, the six teams will insert in at different locations. Five teams will exterminate as many Grimm as possible in the area while Acadian and team RNJ will move on the CCT to reactivate it. When that happens they'll rejoin, help drive the rest of the Grimm out and then we can start fully repairing the CCT. Questions?"

"Yeah, what about the large Grimm at the top?" Neptune asked.

"Here's hoping that we can just break it apart."

"Why have Acadian and his team reactive the CCT?" Winter asked, which was a bit of a shocker to the young professor, who shared eye contact with her for a split-second.

"Frankly, among all the elder Huntsmen present Acadian is the youngest and has squad experience thanks to his military background. He already has instructions on how to restart it; if any problems arise every member of the mission will have headsets to allow for proper communication."

"And if we can't break through the Grimm?" Ironwood asked.

"We will," Acadian replied in confidence, "Spread the word to every student and professor still around that we will need all the help we can get and those that can't come will be on security detail around this area. Anything else?"

"When?" Ren asked.

"Tomorrow morning around noon. We know about the long fog that has accompanied here but by attacking mid-day we catch them at their weak-point."

"What if your old team shows up?" Ruby asked before Acadian could stop her. Ironwood and Winter looked with disbelief at Acadian and Qrow.

"Team CYAN?"

"Yeah, turns out they're on the other side."

"Damn it," Winter said, shaking her head.

"Look, if we encounter any human opposition we have the numbers, simple as that. We overwhelm them but do not give chase, our priority is the CCT. Any more questions?" Acadian asked and the room fell silent, "If you think of any more later on just come to Qrow or I. Dismissed."

The large group dispersed with excited and nervous chatter, leaving RWBY and Qrow, confusing him as he looked around.

"Where the hell did Acadian go?"

Unbeknownst to him, Acadian had slipped out with everyone else and waited, trying to play cool as his heart thundered in his chest. He tailed a few different student groups until he saw a specific person all alone, looking over various reports on her Scroll.

"Brigadier Schnee," Acadian said, standing a few feet away, his legs slightly spread and his arms behind his back. Winter turned and looked up from her Scroll, her look going from focus to apathy.

"Zaffre."

"It's actually professor Zaffre."

"Congratulations," she said in a deadpan tone. What Acadian didn't know was that he and Winter were similar at the moment, for her own heart was beating at an extraordinary rate in her chest.

"Yeah, thanks," he said, disappointed in her tone, "Look, Winter-"

"Brigadier."

"Brigadier," Acadian said, his mood further sinking, "I'm sorry for what happened last night. I lost control and…" he continued, looking away, "I'm really sorry. I don't know what you saw but a couple of people told me how you reacted and I would never want to scare you."

The silence between the two seemed to last ages. In the back of his mind, Acadian hoped that Winter would just walk up to him and kiss him, but he knew that would never happen. For Winter, the fact that he was here still left her in disbelief but she felt a little question at the back of her mind thanks to what Qrow said to Ironwood the day before. For now though, she felt as though she had every right to hold onto her anger.

"What did I see?" she asked quietly. Acadian walked closer but was stopped by the Spec Ops leader when she held up her hand, making the former soldier stand at attention, "What did you do Acadian? What did I… why did I see...?"

"I basically tap into your darkest personal fear and it forms an apparition that taunts you and gets to you. It's my semblance."

"Don't ever do it to me again," Winter said, and with those words, left the professor in the courtyard to walk to the Atlas squads while reading her Scroll. Acadian ran a hand through his hair and returned to HQ, ready to retake Beacon Academy.

* * *

 **Fun little set up chapter and hey, Blake is in her new gear, which is awesome. Fun fact: Yang's dialogue originally had her saying how she wanted to 'rail into Blake'. Took that line out because my fiancee started to laugh, thinking about Yang railing into Blake sexually... which is why I love my fiancee lol. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I think you guys are really going to like 14. Thank you for all the views, fav and follows, I appreciate every single one very much and I will see you guys next week! Have a great week guys!**


	14. First Assault

Chapter 14

The next morning was met with a flurry of activity as everyone got ammunition, sharpened blades and teams came together to board the waiting Bullheads. Professor Port and Glynda volunteered to lead team's CFVY and SSSN, leaving teams from multiple academies to defend the city in case of a Grimm attack. The fact that Winter decided not to join any team disappointed Acadian but he respected her decision. He hoped that soon things could be repaired but he knew that it would take a lot of time, something Acadian was willing to be patient for.

He and team RNJ boarded their waiting Bullhead around noon, being among the last to head off toward Beacon Academy. Acadian handed out headsets to his team and gave last minute instructions.

"When we land, we do what we did at Patch. After that just stay close to me, engage targets that are in our way, don't go out of your way to chase a Grimm or you'll end up dead. Good?"

Acadian was met with confident nods and soon he, Ren and Nora were checking ammunition one last time while Jaune kept his hand on the handle of the door. The pilot blared out to them that their ETA was 30 seconds and with that the four got ready to move. They felt the Bullhead land and Jaune repeated his motions from Patch, this time when he cracked the bay door open a Beowolf was there and was met with a single shot to its head. Jaune flung the door open and the four clamored out, immediately engaging various creatures of Grimm.

Acadian flipped his assault rifle from single shot to burst fire and sent 3 bullets into multiple Grimm, downing some and only injuring others. Nora easily crushed or launched multiple Grimm away while Jaune and Ren worked together, Ren injuring Grimm with Storm Flower and Jaune finishing them with his sword and shield. Slowly they moved forward while chatter from other teams filled their ears.

"How you guys holding up Qrow?" Acadian asked while cleaving a Beowolf in half.

"Holding up so far."

"They working together?"

"It's like they didn't miss a day," the elder Huntsman said. While Qrow had been worried about his niece's team, that worry was quickly dashed when they got off their Bullhead and he was able to witness the team in action. Ruby got shots off that were tinged with ice by Weiss and Yang destroyed frozen Grimm, enjoying the use of her more versatile right arm while Blake dashed about, grabbing Grimm's attention and finishing them with her clones. The team continued to move around each other flawlessly, helping each other when need be, Yang keeping a close eye on Blake and reacting if she was hit by a Grimm. Qrow stayed mainly to himself and was easily cutting Grimm in half while he observed them.

Jaune had stopped moving, angering Acadian as he killed an Ursa Minor.

"Jaune! What the hell are you doing?! Keep-oh," he said, yelling as he got closer than stopping when he saw what Jaune was seeing. The two were soon joined by Ren and Nora, who sighed in frustration at what they saw.

"Death Stalker," Ren mumbled, the other three nodding as the large scorpion Grimm approached them, it's dull white armor showing age, it's golden stinger shined in the light. It let out a low growl as it got closer and the four readied their weapons.

"Question."

"Yup, we fought one and killed it!" Nora exclaimed, answering Acadian's question, who nodded and looked impressed.

"You ever fought one?" Jaune asked.

"Honestly, no. This outta be fun," Acadian said with confidence before the four rushed the Grimm, which roared in anticipation of the fight and clawed at the four, each moving around the bulky appendages, Ren and Acadian peppering it with gunfire that only ticked it off. It swung its tail wildly and connected with Acadian, sending him into a group of Ursa's, something the elder Huntsman did not appreciate. As he dodged claws and stabs in various directions Jaune cut two legs of the massive Grimm, nearly toppling it over on rights side. Nora ran up while it whined and broke two legs on its other side, causing the beast to lean back on its four hind legs.

Ren and Jaune took advantage of the opportunity, peppering the underside of the body with bullets and gashes, quickly angering the Death Stalker, who tried to squish them with its excessive mass but Ren and Jaune rolled away. Meanwhile Acadian was still fighting Ursa's, slicing, stabbing and shooting the few that remained, finally decapitating the last Ursa before running towards the Death Stalker and his students.

"Ren! Blind the bastard!" Acadian yelled and Ren did as he was told, unleashing a storm of bullets at the Stalkers assortment of eyes, a few bullets digging into them, infuriating the beast as it began to wriggle about from all the pain it was experiencing. Acadian threw a red Dust crystal into his sword right and ran to the creature as Nora connected with an uppercut from Magnhild, launching it up enough for Acadian to rev his blade, infusing it with fire, slide and thrust it into the underbelly of the beast. It roared in pain, which only got louder because Ren and Jaune took to cutting its legs on its right side, bringing it onto its side. The Death Stalker tried to use its stinger as a last ditch effort along with its claws to try and push itself upright but both attempts were stopped as Nora launched grenades at the dangerous appendages, damaging them as Jaune, Ren and Acadian attacked the belly. Finally the beast stopped moving and began to dissipate, leaving the four Hunters time to catch their breath.

"Damn… how the hell did you guys do that the first time?"

"We had the best Huntress," Jaune said between breaths, leaving Acadian to feel horrible for asking.

"My bad."

"It's okay Acadian," Ren said with a pat on his shoulder and a smile that he tried to match through his breathing.

Soon after the fight Acadian and his team slowly but surely made their way to the CCT, taking down a few Grimm here and there while checking in on the other teams. When they arrived at the CCT they all made the mental note that it seemed surprisingly empty, with no Grimm around it or seemingly inside it. Jaune and Acadian led the way but just as Nora and Ren were about to join them the front doors slammed in front of them and locked shut. Jaune and Acadian turned and tried to wrench the doors open but for some reason they couldn't. They heard pounding and pulling on the other side from their teammates but the doors still didn't budge.

"Guys stand back!"

"Nora wait!" Jaune yelled, "Guys, look at the doors."

Acadian stood and waited with Jaune until Ren's voice came over the headset.

"The doors are different…"

"They switched the doors?"

"And might've planted a trap on them," Jaune said, looking over the doors. Unlike the glass doors that Ozpin always had on the tower to, as he put, help the students feel that he was always available to them, the doors were now opaque and cloudy.

"Good thinking."

"That means-"

"I know," Acadian said, holding his assault rifle in one hand and placing a finger with his other hand to his ear, "Qrow, come in."

"What's up kid?"

"What's your location?"

"Courtyard, about 70 yards from you guys."

"Alright, Ren and Nora are Oscar Mike to you guys, got it?"

"Wait why? What's going on?"

"Jaune and I are in the CCT and we think the front doors are rigged and there's no way I'm risking their health. Direct them to you and keep an eye on the tower, got it?"

"Expecting the worst?"

"Damn right."

"Good luck," Qrow said. Acadian and Jaune said goodbye to their friends who took off to the courtyard, leaving Jaune and Acadian alone in the tower. Before the young Hunter could do anything the professor moved over to a console and looked over it before ducking under the desk.

"What are you doing?"

"Re-activating the CCT. Qrow said that if we couldn't do it via the terminals, and it looks like we can't, Ozpin apparently hid switches throughout the tower. A-ha!" Acadian exclaimed, pulling up multiple tiles and pulling a large switch, creating a slight rumbling sensation.

"Where are the others at?"

"Two more, one in an elevator shaft and another at the tippy top in his office. Here's hoping we can access it."

"Let's go then," Jaune said with determination. The two walked over to the elevator shaft that Acadian pointed at, poked their heads in and looked up, Acadian sighing in disbelief.

"How the hell are we supposed to get to the 34th floor, let alone the top?"

"Climb the cable?"

"We could…" Acadian said, looking at their options before looking at the cable again. He shrugged and jumped at the cable, grabbing on and beginning his climb. Jaune did the same after putting Crocea Mors on his belt, the two having to jump off from time to time to catch their breath. Shortly after they made it to the 34th floor, they jumped off to catch their breath and so that Acadian could pull the switch.

"Fantastic," Jaune, breathing heavily, "onward to the top."

"Oh come the fuck on," Acadian said.

"What are you complaining about? I thought you were ex-army."

"Yeah and you're like seven years younger than me, what's your excuse?"

Just as the two were about to start arguing they heard and saw the cable turning until they watched the elevator come up and stop in front of them. The two looked at each other in confusion that was replaced with a sense of knowing what was going on. Both drew their weapons and entered the elevator, which began to move again without either of them pushing a button.

"This isn't good."

"Just get ready for the worse, pay attention, head on a swivel, I got your back," Acadian said, slapping Jaune's back to try and reassure him. They rode in silence, the floors ticking by at an agonizingly slow pace until they reached the top floor. The door opened and Acadian's eyes went wide at what was coming right at them.

"JAUNE MOVE!" he yelled, jumping and shoving his young student and himself against the left wall just as a shield shot into the elevator and impacted the back wall, leaving a foot-long gash in the wall. Jaune's breathing had skyrocketed when he looked at the shield, which was one that he was intimately familiar with.

"Pyrrha..." he said, fighting back tears as Acadian turned and looked at the shield.

"Jaune, it's okay, breath and focus, they did that just to get in your head. Remember what I taught you," Acadian said, looking Jaune dead in the eye and trying to calm the young man down, who was breathing heavily and trying to fight back tears.

"Oh Acadian..." he heard. Acadian looked at the open elevator door, closed his eyes and squeezed Jaune's shoulders and patted them before charging out with his sword, immediately meeting Crimson head-on. The two attacked one another non-stop, moved around each other meticulously, trying to find a way to get around the other and cut the other one down.

"Enjoy the ride up?" Crimson asked when they locked blades and Acadian met him with a glare.

"Up until the end you sick bastard," he retorted with ferocity and a kick to Crimson's thigh, stumbling him back. Acadian would've charged in but he couldn't because of what he saw behind his former squad leader: a women frozen in time, yelling while a ginormous Grimm was also frozen further behind her.

"What?" Acadian asked himself before being hit by Nadia's shield, knocking him to the ground and his assault rifle away from him. He got back up in time to see Jaune exchanging blows with Yura, who kept trying to wrap his sword around Jaune's shield but the young Hunter wouldn't let him. Acadian focused on Crimson and Nadia, the two working in tandem to try and over-whelm Acadian, nearly succeeding at points that forced Acadian near the exposed edges of tower. Acadian fought back however, pivoting and feigning attacks to draw them off and allow him to go on the offensive, grabbing Crimson to take a blow from Nadia and knocking him to the side, leaving the two teammates alone, breathing heavy.

"So, Nadia, here we are," Acadian said, rotating his sword a few times before throwing in a green Dust crystal, "You know I can beat you."

"You _could_ ," she said with a grin as she put her right arm underneath her shield next to her left arm. Acadian watched as she split her shield perfectly down the middle, each halve now resting on each arm. The two halves suddenly rotated and moved to her hands, where they laid and bent over here hands, forming armored gauntlets, which were made lethal thanks to three-inch spikes that popped forward from each knuckle.

"Oh come the fuck on," Acadian said, shaking his head as Nadia charged in, ducking a couple of swings from Solstice and landing a punch to Acadian, knocking the air out of him and bringing him to his knees. Internally Acadian was thanking his lucky stars that his Aura was full or those spikes would've ended their match quickly. As Acadian tried to activate his semblance, Nadia retracted the spikes from her right hand and landed a solid punch to Acadian's jaw, flooring him and nearly destroying all the aura he had built up, the dark aura he had been exuding confusing her.

As Acadian's fight with Nadia ended, Jaune's fight with Yura had been going a lot better. Yura had been using his weapon as a whip that Jaune easily blocked, moving forward slowly until he could try and land a blow. Yura tried to hold off Jaune but couldn't as he shoved his shield forward, stumbling Yura back and allowing Jaune to move in, stomping his foot to distract his opponent before landing an upward swipe with his sword, leaving Yura on the ground and in pain. Jaune turned and saw Nadia coming toward him, the two being the only ones standing next to the frozen woman that he did not recognize.

Nadia ran and began her assault, easily moving around Jaune and grabbing his right arm to stop his attacks. He tried to use his shield to punch but was instead met with a sweep of his legs. Nadia clamored on top of him and started to land hard punches to his face that he tried to block but simply couldn't. He could feel his Aura was going to break but thankfully the onslaught ended when Acadian tackled her off of him, giving him a second to recover that he realized he didn't have. As Acadian landed a hit to Nadia's head with the pommel of his sword he turned to see Crimson lurking behind Jaune.

"DUCK!" he yelled at his friend, who did in time as Crimson's sword caught nothing but air, further angering him as the two began their duel. Acadian turned back to Nadia, who pushed him off, giving them space to recover. Acadian sheathed his blade, a snort and a smirk coming from Nadia who launched a few punches. Acadian's military training took over and the two landed punches to each other, from thigh punches to sharp jabs and looping hooks. Jaune had his hands full with Crimson, who activated his semblance and commenced with a lightning fast onslaught that Jaune barely held off. While he was able to stop most of the blows with his shield Crimson threw all of his weight into a sweeping horizontal strike that nearly knocked Jaune's shield out of his hands, stumbling him right into Yura, who landed a strong blow with his sword, leaving Jaune writhing in pain on the ground.

Acadian took a hard jab and hook but countered with a straight kick, a gut punch and rising knee that was finished with a boot to the face of his former friend. Nadia sprawled out on the ground, groaning, allowing Acadian to re-draw his sword and turn to Yura and Crimson, who grinned at him. Acadian charged, revved his blade and ducked Yura's blade that shot forward, yet was stopped in his tracks by something else he didn't expect: one of Crimson's blade shooting forward on a chain, piercing near Acadian's right hip and destroying his aura. Acadian looked in shock after screeching in pain, distracting him as Crimson moved in and with his second blade slashed his right side, leaving a gash that brought Acadian to the ground as he yelled in pain. Acadian laid on his left side, grimacing in pain, struggling to breathe from the shock, and saw three pairs of boots come over to him.

"Nice trick huh? That girl Emerald had a good idea with this," Crimson said before stomping his boot down on Acadian's chest, fracturing a couple of his ribs. Acadian yelled in pain but was cut short when a red and black portal opened 30 feet from them. Acadian and Jaune watched, perplexed at the sight, as three figures strode forward from the portal.

"Good to see you three," Crimson said, placing a fist over his heart and bowing slightly.

"Thank you," Salem said before looking down at Acadian, who was busy looking at Jaune, "Seems like we missed all the fun."

"Not all," Yura said, motioning to Jaune, who was grabbing his shield.

"Oh," Mercury said with a grin and nodded at Neo, who walked over to the blonde while she twirled her parasol.

"Jaune! Look-AH!" Acadian yelled as Yura shot his blade into Acadian's left thigh, the entire blade going through it with ease. Jaune turned and deflected a few kicks before Neo's mastery of hand-to-hand combat took over, easily moving around Jaune's slashes, ducking, rolling, side-stepping her way around him, angering him until she landed quick punches then jumped at him, wrapped her legs around his head and threw him to the edge with grace and ease. Acadian tried to crawl to Jaune, who struggled to get up, but was stopped by a solid boot to his back by Mercury.

"No…" Acadian whispered as Jaune got up and swung with his sword. Neo ducked, landed a kick to his head to spin him around, pulled her blade from her parasol and thrusted into Jaune's lower left abdomen area.

"NO!" Acadian yelled, receiving another stomp from Mercury as Crimson dashed forward, plunging one of his blades into Jaune's left shoulder, further shocking the blonde.

"Say hi to your friend Pyrrha for me," Crimson whispered into Jaune's ear before pulling his blade out slowly and pushing Jaune off the building. With adrenaline running through his body Acadian shot up, pushing past Yura, Mercury and Nadia to give him room and enough time as he put a hand to his ear.

"QROW! WEISS! CCT! JAUNE'S FALLING FAST!" he screamed into his headset right before Mercury landed a roundhouse kick that jostled the headset free to flail in the wind. Acadian stumbled and then went to one knee, allowing Yura to shoot his blade around Acadian's left arm and pull, leaving multiple gashs around his elbow that made Acadian wreath his pain. His whole body was on fire, it was a pain that he hadn't felt in two years and brought back nightmares. As he tried to comprehend everything he felt a presence and turned to the woman with paper white skin, black eyes and red irises while wearing a fearful black gown. She looked down at Acadian, who gritted his teeth at the pain, and shot a hand around his throat, slowly choking him as she lifted him off the ground with ease, staring at him before shaking her head.

"Watch as your plan fails," she said, throwing Acadian to the side as she strode forward to the frozen women, closed her eyes and placed a hand on her. At first, nothing was happening until Acadian saw the ice melting at a quicker and quicker pace.

"AAHHHHH!" the women yelled then looked around shocked, "Crimson? Salem?"

"Good to have you back Ms. Fall," Crimson said with a wicked grin and nod. Before Cinder could say anything else Salem strode to the Dragon Grimm and placed her hands on it, repeating the process that freed Cinder, the creature greeting it's renewed freedom with a mighty and devastating roar.

"Continue your destruction," she told it. The behemoth flapped it's wings and took off, leaving the eight alone on the tower again. Salem walked over to Acadian, who was starting to feel the effects of blood loss, and looked down at him.

"Finish him Neo. Cinder and Mercury with me, we have much to discuss," Salem said, open a portal, leaving team CYN and Neo alone with Acadian.

"Darn, I really wanted to," Crimson spoke up and Neo, while wiping Jaune's blood from her blade, looked at Crimson and nodded to Acadian. Crimson nodded his head as a thank you and walked over to Acadian, nudging him with his boot so that Acadian was laying on his back.

"And now, the moment I have absolutely been waiting for," he said, drawing his blades and placing both on Acadian's neck. Acadian looked up at Crimson in his eyes and couldn't help but chuckle, snorting a bit of air as he did.

"The hell are you laughing at?" Crimson asked in annoyance.

"I may fall s-someday Crimson, but n-not t-today."

"Oh really?" he asked and Acadian nodded with a cocky grin that annoyed him greatly until Acadian slightly lifted his head up. Crimson wanted to ask Acadian what it was but his instincts told him to turn around, which he did slowly, his eyes going wide when he fully turned around.

"Oh shit!" he yelled and was suddenly launched off the tower with force, shocking his three accomplices, who followed the trail of ice to a furious woman, who looked at the other three with a deathly glare.

"Schnee?" Nadia asked and was met with a large ice shard that nearly launched her off the tower. Winter Schnee turned and summoned a Beowolf Alpha that attacked Yura, distracting him as Winter engaged Neo, who counteracted at first but was soon caught with ice around her ankle and was met with two solid slashes from Winter, leaving cuts on her arms, shocking the young woman, who soon teleported away. Yura had fought off the Beowolf and ran to Nadia, who was starting to get up, and the two entered a portal that formed next to them, escaping the wrath of Winter, who was left breathing heavily as the Beowolf disappeared. She soon turned her attention to Acadian, who had started to get up before falling back down.

Oh my God Acadian," she said, running to him but stopped when Acadian waved her off.

"The… T-the switch," Acadian said, pointing to where it was. He directed her until she found it, pulling it and fully reactivating the tower. She then ran back to Acadian with a look of concern and fear.

"Damn them," she said, looking over his wounds, ripping his vest off to use as bandages, which made him chuckle, "You're bleeding and you're laughing about it?" she asked, nearly yelling at him.

"I just… man… I-I remember when y-you used to rip my vest off like that and-"

"Now is not the time Acadian!" she yelled as she continued to apply the make-shift bandages to the Hunter. Very slowly she lifted him up, allowing him to use her as a brace for his right side as they walked to the elevator, grabbing his assault rifle along the way.

"Is Jaune okay?"

"Qrow grabbed him with Weiss's help and he was flown back to Vale."

"How d-did you know?"

"Because they tol-"

"N-no," Acadian said, resting against the wall of the elevator as it descended, "How did y-you know I was i-injured, fucked up, whatever other words I can use? You didn't come with."

"When I heard this place was basically an ambush over the headset I got on the first ship available."

"W-Why were you listening?" Acadian asked, trying to get his point across to Winter, who looked down then wrapped an arm around him because the elevator stopped.

"I wanted to make sure the mission went as smooth as possible," she answered, disappointing Acadian again as they made it to the doors, opening them slowly, Acadian sighing in frustration as it turned out they weren't rigged. The Dragon bellowed as it flew over the battlefield, the two looking up at it in frustration as Acadian signaled he wanted to be put down. He reloaded his assault rifle just to be safe and took deep breaths, weakness overtaking him as Winter stood next to him.

"Ready to move?" she asked and was met with a nod. She helped Acadian up and once again she was used as a brace, his blood staining her long coat. Acadian looked down and mumbled something, making her jerk him so that he re-opened his eyes.

"What?" she asked.

"I… I'm r-really happy I got to see you again," he said, shocking her as they saw a few Grimm approach them.

"I'll take care of them," she said, setting him down, his words going through her head as she drew her blade. Right as she was about to attack Acadian pulled the trigger on his rifle, taking a few of them down even though many shots went wide or high. Winter appreciated it nonetheless and finished the last of them just as team SSSN found them.

"Holy shit!" Sun said, running to Acadian, "Dude, are you okay?"

"I'm g-good, she's got me," Acadian said, nodding to Winter, "Where's RWBY?"

"Look up," Sage said, confusing the two elder Hunters as they looked up and realized why it had gotten so quiet. The Grimm was being attacked and even though it was still having globs fall off it, it was busy with small objects on its back.

"No w-way," Acadian said with a grin. On the Grimm team RWBY, Ren, Nora and Qrow had been assaulting it, with Ren, Nora, Blake and Yang focusing on its wings, poking holes and trying to cut one off while Ruby, Weiss and Qrow focused on gashing into its neck. It yelled and yelled as the seven moved frantically, the Grimm doing everything in its power to get them off, including rolling off, which made them stab into the beast and Yang cling on to either Blake or Weiss while Nora hung on to Ren. Soon enough a bright light was seen emanating from somewhere on the beast and it began to descend fairly quickly, causing a few Hunter teams to head in its direction.

"Go help them, t-they're going to n-need everyone," Acadian said, barely moving his arm to usher SSSN along. They looked at Winter for proper direction and she simply nodded, asking Sage for his headset before they ran to the beast.

"I need a medical Bullhead at my location now," she said calmly before removing the headset and crouching down next to Acadian, looking over his wounds.

"You d-don't have… to show c-concern, it's fine," Acadian said, his voice fading a little, his word choice hurting Winter as she tightened a few of his bandages, getting a pained reaction from Acadian.

"It's been good to see you too Acadian," she said, trying to his ignore his last comment as she rubbed his arm, his eyes lighting up at ther words, before nearly closing.

"You're… just s-saying…" he said, his breathing slowing down. Winter began to panic but realized that Acadian had simply slipped off to sleep, his deep breathing being the only sound emanating from the two of them. She stayed there, crouching, not moving for a minute until she grabbed his hand and squeezed it, memories coming back, her heart pounding as tense minutes went by.

"I've missed you," she whispered, "I guess you know what it's been like, without someone that was like a best friend to you too. It's been so hard without you. God I wish… I just don't know what happened… and I don't want to make a move without knowing... I don't want to be left alone anymore. I hope you understand Acadian," she finished, surprising herself as she planted a kiss on his hand. She let go and Acadian stayed in his slumber as the Bullhead finally landed and the medical team rushed out, loading the two on and racing back to Vale.

* * *

 **Honestly, I think this fight was my best fight scene yet. Loved writing it and trying to choreograph it in my room. Fun times and fun fact time: once again my fiancee helped shaped the story, this time suggesting that the shield that impact the elevator be Pyrrha's and not Nadia's as I had originally written. Works a lot better in my opinion. I also think this is the best romance I've written in a story, it has a good slow burn that will continue for a while longer, which I think is really good. Anyways, I hope you guys have enjoyed the story so far and I really hope you enjoyed the chapter. If you've been digging it a whole lot, please do fav, follow and/or review. Love you guys as always and I hope you guys have awesome weeks! I will be back next Sunday for chapter 15!**


	15. Taking Everything In

Chapter 15

The mission was seen by everyone as a resounding success and team RWBY got special mention for taking down the Dragon Grimm while Acadian and Jaune got the same attention for bringing the CCT back online. Sadly, neither of the two could really celebrate because of the extent of their injures. Luckily for Acadian he didn't need surgery, just stitches and a blood transfusion. On the other hand, Jaune needed surgery because of Neo's stab and also the impact from when Qrow caught him, which nearly broke his back because of the speed at which he was falling. Both were now hospital roommates and while Jaune wasn't nearly as awake as Acadian they still enjoyed each other's company. In the five days since the attack repairs had begun on the CCT with Hunters taking patrols to look out for Grimm.

During that time team RWBY had gone through some rough patches, with each taking turns talking to Blake and letting it known that they were there for her but also how upset they were that she ran again, more so Weiss than the half-sisters. Yang had been the easiest on Blake because she could see the pain in Blake's eyes but also because a lot of the anger she had held dissipated when she saw Blake in the alley a week ago. Team RWBY seemed better on the fifth day, which saw Acadian getting dressed behind the privacy of a curtain, putting on a new black vest, new dark blue dress shirt with the collar popped but no tie, black jeans and boots.

"Acadian, where are you…" Jaune began before stopping and shaking his head slightly, trying to shake off the effects of the painkillers that were coursing through his veins right now, "Where are you going?"

"Patrol."

"Patrol?"

"Yup," Acadian said, buttoning up his vest. Acadian hadn't been given a patrol; he had signed up for it because while it was nice to be visited by everyone there was one person that he wanted to visit but hadn't. That, combined with restlessness and the fact that he had lost to his team and Acadian had been in a down mood, even though he never showed it to Jaune.

"Man that sucks," Jaune said, rubbing his abdomen and laying back in bed. Acadian moved gingerly, doing his best not to re-open any wounds. He shrugged at Jaune and gave him a smile before slowly putting Solstice on his back.

"Ah it's fine," he said, patting his roommates foot before looking down and seeing Ren and Nora, "You got visitors. Have fun," Acadian said with a smile to Jaune, who returned it. Ren and Nora stopped Acadian and asked the same questions Jaune did with both telling him to be careful before giving him a hug and moving to their team leader. Acadian watched the scene, somewhat jealous of Jaune, before leaving and walking outside, breathing in the fresh air.

"The hell are you doing up and about?" Qrow asked, making Acadian chuckle as he slowly made his way to his friend.

"Just had to get out, you know?"

"No, you should be in bed. What do you think you're doing?"

"Going on patrol, I want to make sure the CCT is protected and," he said, holding a hand up, "I had to get out. I'm going out whether you like it or not."

"I don't think you should."

"Qrow, I literally-"

"Winter's on patrol today," he said, putting his hands in his pockets and looking at Acadian, who looked at Qrow and shrugged.

"And?"

"Oh that's shocking," Qrow said with a smile, "Feeling better about all that?"

"I am," Acadian said, rubbing his side, "So, how the hell did you bring down that Grimm?"

"You got time?"

"Of course," Acadian said and Qrow walked away, motioning for him to follow to a small sitting area. Acadian had a few hours to burn before he had to report and always loved hearing Qrow's tales.

* * *

Acadian walked around the CCT, watching the progress while also keeping an out eye out for a stray Grimm. He walked with a slight limp thanks to the injury to his thigh but other than that he was able to hide his injuries. The CCT was being worked on by Glynda, a few other Hunters a good amount of blue collar workers, who were trying to get it done to get it fully operational as quickly as possible. While Ironwood had already sent out a video message and light traffic had returned to Vale, it was going to be a while for Vale to get fully up and running like how it was before the attack on Beacon.

On the other side of the CCT was Winter Schnee, who was doing the same as Acadian. The two didn't really speak when they boarded the airship but Acadian felt something different with Winter, like something in her had changed. In reality, something had: even though he was unconscious, Winter finally told Acadian how she had felt and it had lifted a weight from her chest, allowing her to relax. However, she hadn't been able to fully relax because of what had occupied her mind.

 _Well jeez, maybe if I wasn't the one that fuc-... What was Qrow going to say? What did Ironwood do to Acadian?_ Those questions had dominated her mind during the week and during her time walking around the CCT, going over various scenarios that could've been. She was lost in thought until she bumped into someone, looking instantly irritated then softened when she saw it was Acadian, who had an apologetic look on his face.

"My bad," he said quietly, walking past her.

"How're you feeling?" she asked, surprising Acadian as he turned to her.

"I'm uh… still banged up, thigh's a bit of a bitch, but I'm fine."

"Sorry to hear," she said, letting a silence fall between them until Acadian perked his head up.

"Sorry for making things awkward."

"You didn't Acadian."

"Oh trust me, I know I did," he said with a slight chuckle and then gripping his side, "How much longer is this patrol?"

"Five more hours."

"Fuck me," Acadian said, shaking his head, turning to walk away again.

"Acadian," Winter spoke up so that Acadian could hear, "Um… I meant what I said before you went unconscious," she said, confusing him very much, "You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

"Not really, last thing I recall is telling team SSSN to head to the downed Grimm."

"Never mind then," she said, confusing Acadian.

"Wait, what did you say?" Acadian said, walking up to her but stopped when she shot him one of her trademark looks.

"Leave it be," she said, walking away, annoying Acadian, who sighed and started to walk away.

Luckily for Acadian the last five hours of his shift went by rather quickly, allowing him to put distance between him and Winter but when he landed he was met with another situation as Yang approached him.

"Oh shit your little meeting," he said, rubbing his forehead and grimacing.

"It's fine Acadian," Yang said with a small smile, "I mean, hell, you went through a lot."

"Don't need to remind me," Acadian said with a nudge to Yang as the two walked to the now defunct HQ and upstairs, where Acadian stopped in his tracks, "Where the hell did you two get those outfits?"

The two he was addressing were Ruby and Weiss and he was referencing what the two were now wearing. Instead of the clothing he had seen them in for nearly two months and a little over a week, respectively, they had changed up their clothing. Ruby's cloak, which now connected at her neck, had gotten torn at the bottom in the battle with the Dragon Grimm yet she sported it along with a slight change to her black corset top that now had red laces crisscrossing the front and her black skirt that had red fringes. She also sported black but transparent stockings with a rose design on the side, a white undershirt that had a few belts on both arms, black cufflings and boots that looked more combat then casual.

Weiss on the other hand looked more elegant with a grey top that only covered her arms and neck and was connected with a somewhat big sapphire accent. She also sported a short dress that went from her chest to the middle of her thighs and transitioned from a near grey to a light blue. It was accented with a white petticoat underneath the dress and a ribbon around her waist. Her head whipped around to Acadian, showing that her ponytail lined up a bit more and wasn't as off-kilter as before.

"What's the problem? Our clothing got damaged in the fight," she said.

"But when did you guys get-you know what, fuck it, no point in asking," he said, Ruby chuckling as he waved his hand and sat down.

"What're doing up here Acadian?" Ruby asked, naturally curious, as she sat next to him, "Helping with Blake?"

"Gonna try."

"I hope we'll make it work out. I really want Yang to be happy, she just has to stay the course, that's what my mom said to my dad all the time."

"Oh?"

"Yeah," Ruby said, looking down at the table and playing with her hands before looking back at Acadian, "That's why I wanted to do this. Because she wouldn't want anything else for me and I want to be like her, I gotta stay the course no matter what."

Acadian rubbed Ruby's back, knowing that this was hard for her to tell him. He was met with a nod that he took as a thank you.

"All I know is that if we stay the course now Remnant will be a much better place and that's what I want the most, you know?"

"You and thousands of other Hunters Ruby."

"I know," she said with a smile as she leaned on her hands, propping her head up. Acadian sat with the young Huntress and decided to share a few old stories from his time at the military academy, all of which were comedic and brightened Ruby's mood, which Acadian felt proud of. Minutes went by before he noticed something crucial was missing.

"Wait where the hell is Blake?"

"She told us she was coming soon," Weiss said as she redid her ponytail and then stiffened when they heard the front door close. Slowly Blake Belladonna walked up the stairs and stopped at the second step from the top, looking at the four with a bit of concern and interest.

"So… uh… what's up?" she asked, making her way to the top and moving a bit onto the second floor.

"Nothing, just sitting around, lazy day," Ruby said with a shrug.

"Uh huh," Blake said, not buying the answer, "What's really going on?"

"Curiosity did kill the cat," Acadian said, getting a glare as a response.

"Not funny."

"Oh it was a tiny bit," he replied and before the situation could escalate Yang stepped forward, grabbing her teammate and sitting her down at the table where Ruby and Acadian sat. Acadian got up and offered his seat to Weiss, who took it graciously.

"Blake, I… we just wanted to talk," Yang said.

"Well, only you do really," Weiss said, annoying Yang as Blake looked at her in concern.

"What is it Yang?"

"I... Blake, I... oh this is hard," Yang said, rubbing her thighs, closing her eyes, taking a deep breath and then opening them again.

"Yang, you okay? You've never been nervous," Blake said, making Yang even more nervous, ironically.

"I'm just trying to… to figure out how to put this, this whole thing, into words," she responded, taking a deep breath that was helped by Ruby rubbing her back, "Blake, I'll be honest, I was beyond furious when I learned you ran."

"Yang, we've been over this, I'm-"

"Blake, please," Yang said, practically pleading, which sent a tinge of fear into Blake, making her wonder what was wrong with her teammate.

"Yang-"

"Blake, I care about you, I do. Ruby and Weiss do as well. But you have to understand that I was furious with you. I know why you left; you felt guilty about my arm and didn't want us to get hurt," Yang began, Blake's eyes tearing up at the mention of what happened that awful night, "but I want you to understand that I would've been there for you, all of us would've been. I wanted you to be there with me, I… I wanted to be with you, I didn't want you to run," Yang continued, taking Blake's hands, her eyes going wide.

"Yang, do you-"

"I really do like you Blake and I know you may not but I have to get this off my chest. I really do like you, not just as a teammate or a partner but as someone I want to be with. I want to start something new with you," Yang said with a worried smile, her heart thundering in her chest. Blake looked at her before shooting up and taking off for the stairs but was stopped by the arms of the professor who had gotten her nearly a week before.

"Slow it down there."

"Let. Me. Go," she said, her eyes conveying a range of emotions. Yang looked hurt and was being comforted by Ruby as Weiss ran up to the two of them.

"Blake what is wrong?!"

"Just please leave me be!"

"Okay, let's do this," Acadian said, stepping between the two and trying to keep his voice calm, "Weiss, stay here. Blake, come with me."

"No, just let me go."

"Blake, come with me," Acadian said, lowering his voice and giving Blake the sternest look he could. Blake struggled a bit before relenting and walking downstairs with Acadian, the two moving to a back part so that they couldn't be heard.

"What's going on Ms. Belladonna?"

"Nothing," she said, shaking her head and looking out the window.

"Blake," Acadian said, her head turning back with tears running down her cheeks, "Whoa, what is it?"

"I don't want her to get hurt professor," she said, crying in her hands. Acadian moved as quick as he could to get a cloth before sighing in annoyance and taking his vest off so that she could use it. She refused at first but Acadian insisted and soon Blake relented, trying to calm herself down.

"It's just… her and Sun… and then Adam..." she said quietly between deep breaths, still wiping her eyes as she did.

"Adam?"

"The… one of the heads of the White Fang… our relationship is complicated… I just don't want her to get hurt or worse… he could kill her," she said, crying harder as she said the last words.

"Blake," Acadian said, stepping forward to hug the young woman, who cried in his chest, "Blake, she cares about you and I can tell you really care about her. She wants to go through these things with you. Hell, she'll probably just punch the bastard when she sees him again," Acadian said, hoping Blake would laugh but just looked at him, "But honestly, she wants to be with you. Do you?"

"I… I think. I feel something special when I'm with her and I have since we first became teammates. There's a connection between us... I just feel, I don't know… empty, alone without her."

"As I said to Yang, go to her. Tackle it head-on or in the case of Yang just punch it and see what happens. Trust me when I say this: stay with your team, they are your greatest friends," he said with a smile that she returned, "Tell her how you really feel. Start a new adventure together."

With those words of encouragement Blake returned upstairs and sat down next to Yang, who looked like she had been put through hell.

"Yang, after the talks we've had, I see now that I can't take on the White Fang alone and I realize too that... I don't want to be without you. I can't be without you. With you," she said, Yang looking at her with a smile, "I feel so different, so special. Yes, you have your puns and your spontaneous but I love that about you. I really like you too Yang and would love to… be able to spend more time with you, to start something new."

Yang's eyes lit up at the words and hugged Blake instantly, pulling her close and leaving Ruby and Weiss to stare at their friends, and sister in Ruby's case, with glee.

"Dinner?" Yang asked.

"Love to," Blake said and Yang couldn't help but grin before planting a small kiss on Blake's lips, shocking the other three.

"Yang! Really? You didn't even wait for the first date," Weiss said.

"Oh so what Ice Queen," Yang said with a shrug, Blake and Ruby laughing as Weiss launched into a tirade about that nickname and the the proper mannerisms for dating, kissing and other ethics.

* * *

Acadian had found his way back to the hospital room that he and Jaune shared, the young man fast asleep with Nora and Ren standing nearby.

"Hey Acadian, how're you feeling?" Nora said with a smile to the professor, who gave a very tired smile as he got out a new vest and shirt.

"As good as I will for a while," he said, sitting down and looking right to see his necklace on a night stand, surprising him and causing him to reach for his neck.

"It's been a while since you wore that, I think you took off… what, when we stopped in Mistral?" Nora asked.

"I think so, who put it there?"

"Qrow did," Ren answered as Acadian nodded and yawned, "Long day?"

"Oh my God you have no idea," Acadian said, putting his face in his hands for what seemed like a few seconds. He lifted his face to see Weiss standing in front of him, making him jolt at her sudden presence.

"Oh jeez Weiss, how the hell did you sneak up like that?"

"She didn't," Nora said, looking a bit concerned at Acadian.

"We thought you fell asleep like that," Ren chimed in.

"That's not important right now," Weiss said, getting Acadian's attention, "Now that we have a bit of down time I really need to ask you something: why did my sister tell me to watch out for you?" she asked, a few seconds of silence drifting between the two as Acadian looked at her with utter bewilderment.

"Huh?" he responded, getting an irritated sigh from the heiress.

"Acadian, my sister said to me that you know how to hurt people close to you. What did she mean by that?"

"Why do y-"

"Because I want to make sure my friends will be okay. Yes, you helped with Blake and Yang and we all appreciate that greatly-"

"What happened with Blake and Yang? Oh, did they kiss?!" Nora asked and was quickly silenced by Ren with a hand over her mouth.

"While we appreciate it greatly," Weiss repeated, more irritation bubbling over, "I want to make sure you're not going to do anything to hurt them because if you do so help me Acadian I will not spare you," she said, her voice getting low, showing off something he didn't expect from her: intimidation. Acadian wasn't fazed however, looking into her blue eyes, unblinking, showing that her threat meant nothing to him.

"Go get your team," he said quietly and Weiss departed at once, leaving him with one Hunter covering a Huntress's mouth and another Hunter who was starting to wake up.

"If you don't mind me prying, what did her sister mean?" Ren asked.

"You'll understand," Acadian said quietly, rubbing his chin and waiting. By the time team RWBY came to the room Ren, Nora and Acadian had moved the beds around so that everyone could be seated comfortably. Acadian stood in the middle as everyone took their seats and Jaune sat up in his bed.

"Okay," Acadian said, taking a deep breath, "What I'm going to tell is basically my full time at the Atlas Academy. People have said things that you guys have heard that has made you question me and I understand that. Though, do be warned, I will get graphic about certain things," he said and everyone looked at Weiss.

"What?" she asked.

"I'll be honest Weiss, your sister and I were at one point lovers."

"D'awwwww," Ruby said and Weiss shot her a glare.

"Damn Acadian," Yang said with a grin that quickly dissipated when Weiss gave her the same glare she just shot at Ruby.

"Just please don't get to graphic."

"When it comes to that I won't, trust me," he began, "To start it off, I don't talk to my family and I lied about a few things. My father actually went into the Army and then my brother went into the Vacuo Army to be like him. My brother Titian is a general and five years older than me, so when he rose the ranks quickly, my parents put a lot of pressure on me to be just as, if not, more successful. However, I didn't want to do Army, I wanted to go into the Navy, which is why I have an anchor on my pendant, not because of my father. My parents didn't like that and the fact that I could control my aura, which meant I was a Hunter and would probably skip military school. But they didn't care, they wanted me to go into the military and, more specifically, into the Vacuo Army. I told them I would do it, I would go into the army; I just never specified which one. Late that same night I did what a lot of people say I do best: I ran away."

* * *

 **And it all continues to build! So, I'm glad I got the romance with Blake and Yang in. Personally, I put it in because that just seems to be where they're going with the show and I'm really curious about how they're going to do it, hopefully brilliantly. Anyway, the next 3 and a half chapters are all Acadian at the academy and about him and Winter. I hope you guys will enjoy them and I really hope you guys liked this chapter! If you did, awesome! If not, let me know why! Please do review, fav and follow! Love you guys so much for reading and I hope to see you guys next week! Having a great week all!**

 **UPDATE: Okay, so... I'll admit that I only edited this like once. Having re-read it, I realized how bad this chapter was. I took out inconsistencies, removed lines of dialogue and cleaned it up as best as I could. The main area I focused on was cleaning up the second paragraph and cleaning up the whole thing with Yang and Blake. I realized that for some that may feel rushed and I fully agree. That is something I don't think I should'be put in right away aka I should've spread it out but I live with the decision and I can stand by it. In reality I wanted this story to focus on Acadian and I think I've done that well. So, I apologize for the quality of this chapter and I hope I can make it up to you guys for the rest of this story. Much love.**


	16. Initiation

Chapter 16

"Zaffre, Acadian!" the young 17-year-old heard, standing up and walking off the airship carrying three large bags, taking in the large academy that loomed in front of him.

"Whoa," he said with a slightly deep voice and a grin. The stark white of the academy reflected the rest of Atlas. In the middle was a large, glass covered 18-story monolith that served two purposes, being the CCT and was the home for the administration of the Atlas Hunter Academy. Next to the monolith was a nine-story tower that served as the HQ for the Atlas Military and its academy. Acadian took a deep breath and looked at the rest of the enormous campus, spotting training areas, a library, barracks, a mess hall and dormitories that all reflected the clean, white, modern look of Atlas. The man who had called out to him was in the typical military uniform: white slacks and belt with shining black shoes, a grey vest jacket and a white long-sleeve shirt along with a dark tie. The young man also wore a typical military hat over his buzz cut hair and greeted the young man with a handshake, which Acadian took with glee.

"Welcome aboard son."

"Thank you, sir."

"Anytime," the young man said and the two walked down toward the administration buildings, "So, duel enrolled?"

"Hoping to be, sir."

"Keep your hopes up. I saw your stuff from Noir Academy, very impressive. Entrance exam isn't too bad; you should be fine. If you don't mind me saying, I'm kinda shocked you didn't apply to Shade."

"Yeah, just didn't want to," Acadian said with a shrug. He sported jeans, dark blue sneakers and a matching t-shirt along with shoulder length dark brown hair. Acadians mood darkened a bit with the lieutenant's line of questioning, something the slightly older man realized.

"Sorry for asking, didn't mean to pry."

"Nah its fine," Acadian said, waving his hand as they walked into the monolith, the lobby doused in sunlight and with a sleek, slight industrial look, "Damn this place is really nice looking."

"Couldn't agree more. Fifteenth floor is a large training room that will be double as your exam area. Good luck Zaffre," the second lieutenant said with a salute that was returned. Acadian couldn't help but have a mixture of jitteriness and anxiety about everything that had happened in the past 72 hours.

Tired of the pressure from his parents, Acadian had secretly applied to and accepted to take the entrance exam into both Atlesian academies. One day later, late at night Acadian had packed his clothing, sanitary items and a few mementos before going out the window of his family's one-story house and ran to one of the large airfields that resided in the capital of Vacuo. From there he bought a ticket with lien he stole from his father and headed off to Atlas. He had felt his Scroll vibrating for nearly the entire journey, indicating multiple missed calls, messages and voice mails. Now, here he was, entering a large room that had no identifiable features: it was stark white like the rest of the building and had a few columns to hold it up but that was all. Acadian looked around in confusion, putting his bags down and taking out his sword. Suddenly the lights dimmed and Acadian got into his fighting stance, ready for anything.

"Acadian Zaffre," he heard over a PA system, "I am General James Ironwood, head of the Hunter academy and I provide oversight for the military and spec ops academies. Are you ready for your exam?"

"What am I gonna be doing exactly?" the young man asked.

"Fighting various Grimm holograms. Good luck," he replied. Ironwood and a couple of advisers from both the military academy and Hunter academy were watching via double-sided glass that was a part of a wall in the training room.

Acadian took a deep breath and moved forward slowly, looking around before loading a red Dust crystal into his sword. A low growl emitted from his right and he turned to see red, glowing eyes not just from one Grimm but multiple. Acadian grinned at the forms of Beowolves, Boartabusks, a few Ursa minors and one Berwgel, which made Acadian's grin disappear.

"Fuck," he said to himself as the largest Grimm roared, grabbed a Beowolf and threw it at the young Hunter, who rolled out of the way and made his way into the battle. He dodged a couple of claw slashes and drove his blade into one Beowolf, slipped it out and disemboweled another. He was suddenly knocked to the side by the Berwgel, which bellowed at him, making the entire room vibrate as two Ursa's and three Boartabusks moved forward. Acadian shook his head and charged in again, side-stepping two charging Bortabusks and ducking under one Ursa, easily cleaving the other Ursa's arm off and then it's leg.

Acadian turned and goaded a Boartabusk to impact a column, allowing him to easily run his blade through its gut. The Berwgel charged again, knocking a Beowolf to the side and throwing a punch at Acadian, who side-stepped it and cut into its arm. The creature roared in anger, picked Acadian up and tossed him across the room as though he was just a rag doll. Acadian impacted the wall hard and was face down on the ground, trying to regain his senses as he saw a couple of Beowolfs come forward. He stood up on wobbly legs and tried to focus, barely getting his sword up in time to stop a blow from one as another tried to pin him, it's snarling snout mere inches from his face. Acadian returned a furious look of his own and stomped the Grimm's paw, a slight shriek of pain coming from it before it's head was cut clean off.

He turned, killed the other Beowolf and the last two Boartabusks, before switching his attention to the Ursa's that remained and the Berwgel, which was nursing it's wound. He focused and moved in, killing one Ursa before revving his blade, which glowed bright red. The Grimm were distracted by the blade for a few seconds, giving Acadian time to continue to rev it, point it at them and get a cocky smirk on his face.

"Burn bitches," he said, letting go of the brake handle on the sword, which became a flamethrower that ignited the black fur on the creatures. All of them howled in pain as they were consumed by the flames except the Berwgel which hollered and charged forward, knocking the other creatures aside, shocking Acadian as it raised its fists and slammed them down, the shockwave knocking Acadian off his feet. The creature continued forward, not stopping as the fires licked at its fur and tried to burn its boney armor. Acadian rolled away and loaded in a green crystal, revved the blade and slashed with the blade, the crystal creating a large gust of wind as he slashed, staggering the weakened Berwgel back. Acadian rushed in, dancing around it's punches and cutting its foot off at the ankle, bringing the beast to a knee and allowing Acadian to quickly get on top and drive his blade into its upper back. It roared and grabbed the Hunter, who brought the blade down on its hand, leaving a large gash, making the Grimm release him. Acadian dashed forward, launched into the air and brought his sword into the side of its head, killing the Grimm.

Acadian was left breathing heavily and aching as the holograms disappeared, so much so that he fell to one knee and threw his head back, letting out a chuckle before standing up. He looked around and grinned before sheathing his sword and walking back to his bags.

"And?" Acadian asked no one in particular.

"Welcome to the Atlas Academy Mr. Zaffre," Ironwood said over the intercom, Acadian nodding and smiling in approval as he picked up his bags and exited to the same lieutenant that was with him earlier.

"Well done Acadian, ready to meet your team?"

"Really?"

"Yeah we lost a few students due to transfer, we think you're going to fit in nicely with this group."

* * *

The two exchanged light chat as they walked to the dormitory, where they ascended a flight of stairs and stopped at the far end of a hallway. The lieutenant knocked and as the seconds ticked by he became ticked off, losing his patience as he knocked hard on the door again.

"Lazy guys?" Acadian asked.

"No, trouble makers, here's hoping you can fix them," the lieutenant responded as the door opened to a young man in ripped jeans, sneakers, a casual red t-shirt and had mopped, reddish-brown hair. His green eyes conveyed annoyance and rolled them when he saw the lieutenant.

"Oh, hello Lunar."

"That's second lieutenant Lunar to you and why aren't you in uniform?"

"It's a Hunter day for us moron," he said in a low voice, adding emphasis to his annoyance, his eyebrows perking when he saw Acadian, "And you are?"

"He is your new teammate and you are now officially team CYAN. Acadian, I wish you the best of luck. Your class schedule is the same as theirs. Be careful," he said, patting Acadian's shoulder as he walked away. A bit of an awkward silence followed until the man motioned with his head for Acadian to enter.

"Hey guys, we got a full team," the man said, closing the door behind Acadian, who looked around the room and nodded his head at the surroundings: four beds, small dressers, desks and chairs with weapon racks, a simple rug on the tiled floor and bookshelves to hold various items.

"Brilliant, I was starting to worry we would only be a three-man team," said a young man that was listening to music with only one earbud in. He wore purple jeans and matching sneakers along with a light blue shirt, buzzed dark purple hair and had yellow eyes that stared at the ceiling.

"Well, two-man one woman you mean," a female said, her ponytail bouncing around as she put clothing away. She herself was wearing green shorts, black boots and a matching crop top, her light red eyes looking at the man on the bed.

"Please, you're practically a man," the man on the bed said, the leader snickering at the comment as the woman launched a pillow at her friend laying on the bed.

"Oh! Introductions, how rude of me and us," the leader said, turning to Acadian, "Crimson Sayre."

"Acadian Zaffre," Acadian said, the two exchanging handshakes, "And those two?"

"Yura," the man said, waving his hand as a greeting while not moving.

"Don't mind him," the woman said, approaching him, "Nadia Jade. He is Yura Amaranth and a lazy fuck."

"Oh we'll get along great," Acadian said.

"I hope so."

"Did you guys lose your fourth member or…?"

"Never got assigned one. They just clumped us together and right as we begin classes we get you and I think I know why," Crimson said, sitting up on on his bed as he spoke, "How did you get here?"

"Via airship idiot."

"I mean what shit did you do that made you join?"

"I just wanted to."

"Bullshit," Yura said, Acadian rolling his eyes at the response as he put his bags down on the unclaimed bed that was next to Crimson's and Nadia's.

"I just wanted to get away from the family... had to."

"Fucking knew it, we're the throwaway group."

"Huh?" Acadian asked in response to Crimson.

"Oh here we go," Nadia said, shaking her head as Crimson sat up and looked at Acadian.

"Okay, I'll be real with you, my parents died a couple of years ago."

"Jeez, I'm really sorry to hear that man."

"Thank you," Crimson said, not really showing any appreciation for the sympathy, which confused Acadian, "But, here's the thing… I got investigated as a suspect. They died in a really bad fire but I got looked at, fucked up right?"

"I would say so."

"These two are street kids, thieves, pick pockets, etc. and you're a runaway."

"Okay and?"

"And we are basically a throw-away group, a group that they don't expect anything from, the rejects. And you know what I say to that?"

"What do you say to that Crimson?" Yura asked just to egg on his team leader.

"I say fuck them; we need to be the best, we need to prove them wrong and show what it's like to be the rejected group. We deserve admiration, respect and we will get it," Crimson stated all the while staring at Acadian, who nodded his head, impressed at his drive.

"Sounds good to me."

* * *

Team CYAN's first month had really been a feeling out process that had been getting better as the days went by. Each of the four soon got used to each other and were able to identify basic traits. Crimson was the de-facto leader and a bit cocky, Acadian a bit reserved with a quick mouth, Yura was lazy but studious and Nadia trained a lot and had a quick temper. Each also learned a bit more about each other, such as Acadian's family and their military heritage, how Nadia and Yura became fast friends eleven years ago and that Crimson apparently had inherited a good amount of money even though the police still suspected him to the very day.

"Frankly I just don't give a damn what those investigators think," Crimson said with a shrug one day while the four ate dinner in a nearly empty mess hall. While it had definitely been hard on the four between training as a squad and as a Hunter team, they had enjoyed the challenge.

"So, Crim, would you say fuck the police?" Yura said with a chuckle that everyone matched, Crimson nodding as well to his friend.

"Damn right," he said, "What are we supposed to do tonight?"

"It is Friday… I was hoping for a bit of time off," Yura said with a shrug.

"You don't need any more time off lazy ass," Acadian said, shaking his head as he drank a glass of water, "I was going to go train and study up on some squad procedures, we have that quiz on Monday."

"Bleh," Nadia said, shaking her head, "Don't remind me. I'll join you in training, need to work on some stuff with the shield. What about you Crimson?"

"Hell I may hang with some classmates. You should join Acadian, you need to get out more," he said with a smile and nudge to Acadian, whose gaze was locked.

"Uh… Acadian?" Yura said, waving his hand in front of his teammates eyes. Nadia got up, sat next to Acadian and followed his gaze.

"Who the hell is that?" she asked and the other two turned to look. The woman in question was reading and had snow white hair in a tight bun and a large bang that covered her right eye. She wore the usual outfit for female students: grey leggings, dark grey skirt, white belt, grey long sleeve covered by a dark grey vest. She also wore a black tie and on her shoulder was a shattered cross-hair with a spear running through it, the pointed end sticking up and underneath it was a black horizontal bar with a small gray box on the left.

"Huh," Crimson said, biting his lip, thinking, "Uh… is she a student?"

"That's a Schnee," Yura said, shocking his teammates.

"What?!" Acadian exclaimed.

"Yeah, paper white hair, blue eyes, that's a Schnee… but it can't be the younger one… that should be Winter Schnee."

"The hell is Winter Schnee doing in uniform? And what rank is she?"

"Looks like a Chief Warrant Officer," Nadia began, squinting her eyes, "CW4."

"That's a specialty rank," Yura said.

"Thank you captain obvious," Acadian said.

"Acadian why were you staring?"

"She caught me off guard Nadia."

"With her beauty?" she asked with a wink, Yura and Crimson quickly getting in on the attention.

"He just wants her money Crim."

"Oh I know; he always talks about getting a nice car."

"Don't forget the mansion."

"But such a bitchy attitude from what I heard."

"Kinda matches Acadian's."

"HEY!" he yelled, his teammates laughing as he looked at the three, clearly annoyed, "You know what? I don't need you assholes, I'm gonna go introduce myself," he said, getting up as his team gave him nods of approval.

"Don't fuck up."

"One try and that's it," Crimson said as Acadian walked away.

"Go get her tiger!" Nadia yelled, the three laughing, Acadian's cheeks going red at his friends as he approached the woman, who took a sip of her drink, not looking up as Acadian finally stopped at her table.

"Uh… excuse me Chief Warr-"

"I heard a good amount of your conversation with you friends," she said, not looking up from her book on advanced tactics, her cold voice portraying no emotion, "And I would appreciate it if you just leave me be."

"I'm sorry Chief, but honestly-"

"Leave. Now," she said, turning a page and still not looking up. Acadian stood there for a few seconds, trying to think of what to do before eventually giving a quick salute.

"I apologize for bothering you Chief Warrant Officer Schnee," he said. He turned and began the walk of shame back to his friends, who were about to burst into laughter.

"Oh that went horrible," Crimson said with a wicked grin on his face, patting Acadian's back as he took a seat next to him, "See, if that was me-"

"Fuck off Crimson," Acadian said deadpanned, gulping the rest of his water down. His teammates avoided him, sharing avid conversations with each other until it was time for them to head out and do whatever they wanted to do.

"Still want to train Acadian?" Nadia asked, Crimson and Yura ahead of the two, talking.

"Nah, I'm fine, I'm just gonna study," he said, hands in his pockets as they walked.

"Okay, well, if you change your mind, I'll be free to train with," Nadia said with a pat on his arm.

"Yeah, thanks, I…" and he trailed off because as the two walked he had looked around to take in the beauty of the moonlight on the buildings and when he looked right he saw her again, "I'll keep that in mind. I'll catch up with you guys later."

"Sounds good and uh," Nadia said, looking in Winter's direction, "Good luck."

"Thanks," Acadian said with a smile. Nadia caught up to the two guys while Acadian turned right and approached Winter, who reading while seated on a bench. When she heard the footsteps she looked up and her face and eyes immediately gave the look of annoyance.

"You again."

"Chief," Acadian said with a nod.

"I told you once and I'll tell you again, I-"

"If you'll pardon me Chief," Acadian said, instantly regretting interrupting Winter Schnee as she shut her book with authority and stood up, the top of her head reaching his chin.

"Who do you think you are interrupting a commanding officer?"

"I-I'm sorry ma'am!" he saluted quickly, hoping to be able to at least get a sentence out. Winter looked him over and shook her head before sitting back down and picking her book back up.

"I'm not in the mood to be distracted and I need to finish this chapter. So, I'm going to dash your hopes now before a child such as yourself asks any questions," she said, the insult digging into Acadian, who did his best to hide that it did.

"I actually wasn't going to ask you anything," he said, which was somewhat true. Acadian did think Winter Schnee was cute but had also heard a lot about the Schnee's and was naturally curious.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah… it must be really hard."

"Oh what?" she asked, the annoyance and irritation rising in her voice because expecting a dirty joke from the young man.

"The pressure from your family," Acadian said. Winter looked up from her book and sat back, giving him a look that gave him hope. It was a look that wasn't upset and was rather a bit appreciative of what he said.

"Like you would know."

"When your brother is about to become a general and your dad was nearly a general, I believe I somewhat know ma'am," he said. Winter returned to her book, not giving much more thought to Acadian, who cautiously sat next to her and leaned forward.

"You know what I don't know?"

"What?"

"How someone can deal with all the social, media and public pressure because of your family history when it comes to faunus'."

"What the hell are you trying to say?" she asked.

"That it must be hard to live a normal life when people blame you for things that aren't your fault but rather your family's and your ancestors fault. It must be hard not being able to talk to anyone about it because, I have to assume, your family just shrugs it off and not that many people want to chat. That's why I wanted to talk to you," Acadian said, getting lost in her light-blue eyes, "Because I bet you want someone that will listen without judging you."

Silence hung between the two of them until she closed her book slowly, stood up and began to walk away.

"Chief Schnee," Acadian said, stopping her, "I'm really sorry I… I just… you know, your family is practically untouchable and seeing you is just, you know, I just never thought I would see a Schnee in the military. But I've read the interviews, I've read the damning articles and opinion pieces and I can't imagine the pain, the threats, the ignorance... That's all. I'm really sorry," Acadian said, standing up and walking toward her then past her, his hands in his pockets.

"Private," he heard behind him and turned around to see Winter walking up to him and looking at his chest, "Zaffre?"

"Private First Class Acadian Zaffre ma'am," he said, saluting out of muscle memory at this point. She looked him in the eyes and walked twenty feet away before stopping and turning.

"Please follow Private Zaffre," she said before walking away. Acadian couldn't help but feel a growing smile come to his face as he ran to catch up to her.

* * *

 **It's just the beginning for Acadian. Yeah, so, the basic idea on this one romance wise is that it seems like the Schnees don't have many to talk to. Or if they do, they might get struck down. For example, Weiss and Blake got into it because of Weiss's hatred of the White Fang and insults to faunus kind that she learned from. We saw more of that anger from Flynt in Volume 3. I approached their romance from the standpoint of 'Really big family that has faced harsh criticism in the past, how would the kids handle it? Would they mentally be okay? Could they really talk to anyone?'**

 **Anyway, I just thought I would clue you guys in on my thinking on this romance. Again, I do want to apologize for the quality of 15, it's a chapter that is full of 'oh, it just so happens...' and things like that, re-reading it, just didn't seem right. At this time I'm not going to edit it again: I'll stand by it but I'll also admit I fucked it up. It always sucks when I lose a follower or favorite... favoriter? Is that a word? Anyway, I always hate that because it means I fucked up, so again I apologize for the quality of that chapter.**

 **Couple last things: Crusaders of Remnant hit 40 Favs, which is pretty frickin sweet! Thanks for the love on my other stories, it is always appreciated. I hope you guys have a wonderful week, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and if you did (or didn't, it's cool) leave a review or PM me. In the mean time, fav, follow and as always I'll see you guys next week!**


	17. Chance

Chapter 17

Two hours flew by as the Chief Warrant Officer and Private walked around the grounds of the academy, Acadian mainly listening while Winter told him a few things about herself and a few stories that either shocked him or made him chuckle. While he was not able to say much, he didn't mind because he saw something in Winter's eyes that made it all worth it to him: relief.

"I apologize, I rarely talk as much as I have," Winter said, the two stopping outside the officer's barracks and taking a seat on a bench.

"Ah it's fine Chief, I understand."

"Well, what about you?"

"What about me?"

"I mean your family Private," Winter said. Acadian looked down, shrugged his shoulders and, before Winter could react, took out his Scroll. He unlocked it for her, pulled up his missed calls and then the numerous voicemails that had been left. He handed the phone to her and nodded.

"Which one?"

"Any of them," Acadian said apathetically. Winter looked at him then at the phone, selecting a voicemail that was two weeks old and held the phone to her ear.

"Listen hear you son of a bitch," she heard, her eyes going wide at the hostile tone, "I don't care who the fuck you think you are, what you did to mom and dad is bullshit and they don't deserve that. They just want the best for you. What? Didn't think you would make it in the Vacuoan army? You probably wouldn't have lasted a fucking day before you were crying for me."

Winter removed the phone from her ear and looked down in shock and perplexion and just as she was about to ask who that was, Acadian grabbed the phone, flipped to another voicemail and handed it back to hear.

"You listen hear, I don't care who you think you are, how dare you run away from us? After all that your mother and I have provided you with, this is the thanks we get? You know what, don't come back, how about that?"

The voice the second time was male like the first voicemail but was much older. Winter slowly turned to Acadian and handed him his Scroll, which he took, compacted and slid back into his pocket.

"I'm so sorry, does your team…?"

"No and it's not your fault, you didn't know," Acadian said with a shrug, staring out at the capital city.

"May I ask why?"

"Family or team?"

"Team first."

"Just something that I would rather not share, besides we're the rejects, so our pasts don't matter much, hell all I know is Crimson's really, Nadia and Yura just skimmed over theirs."

"And the family?"

"To much pressure for me to live up to, something I know you live with daily."

They sat in silence for a while, Acadian not wanting to move so he could calm down and Winter, who wanted to make sure the private would be okay.

"Well, if you ever want to talk," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder. The two locked eyes and shared a slight smile, a new common ground being established.

"Yeah, same to you. Might as well get going, it's getting pretty late."

"Agreed. Have a good night Pri-"

"Pardon ma'am," Acadian said, the two standing up and he extended his hand, "You can just call me Acadian, it's fine."

"Only call me Winter when it's the two of us, okay?" she said. Acadian chuckled and nodded as the two shook hands.

"Have a good evening ma'am."

"Same to you Acadian," she said, Acadian saluting her then walking away. Winter watched him go, happy to have a new friend that would listen while Acadian was happy that she gave him a chance.

Soon Acadian was back in the barracks, looking around and noting the silence that was in the hallway and surprisingly from his dorm. _Oh they stayed up_ he thought to himself as he opened the door and was met with three pairs of eyes all looking at him with eager anticipation.

"What the hell do you assholes want?" he asked, getting laughter in response from his friends, barely avoiding a pillow thrown by his team leader as he went to his bed.

"So we did some research on your new girlfriend," Yura began.

"Not my girlfriend, just very misunderstood female friend."

"Uh-huh," Nadia said, Acadian rolling his eyes at her and catching her Scroll to look at something she pulled up, "So, A. she's a graduated Hunter and B. we found out what that symbol means."

"She can whoop your ass and find out anything about you easily," Crimson said, patting his friends shoulder as Acadian looked over the information.

"Spec ops?"

"Officer in training for Spec Ops."

"Well that explains her living situation."

"Oh damn he got in her bed first try!"

"Shut it Nadia I did not!"

* * *

The final three months of the semester went by to quickly for Acadian, who was enjoying his team and the time he spent with Winter. While they still talked about familial issues to vent they also offered opinions about various points or stories in Remnant, from Faunus rights to the need for armies outside of helping Hunters.

"You sure you want to stay Acadian? Its already cold and it's gonna feel like Hell froze over in the next two weeks," Yura said, packing up his things. For the recruits and Hunter's, it was time to head home for a month long break. Crimson had invited his friends with him to Vale to relax and indulge themselves with their monthly pay for being army recruits and his inheritance.

"Yeah, I think the quiet will definitely help."

"Ah, he just doesn't love us yet," Nadia said with a nudge to Acadian, who smiled.

"I promise every other break I'm rolling with you guys. I just want some quiet time."

"Yeah, you know you're not going to get that with Crimson around."

"Hey!" he yelled, the three chuckling at each other. A call went out for all students who were departing to get to the airstrip and the four walked out in heavy coats, chatting with each other until the three clambered onto a Bullhead heading to Vale. Acadian waved goodbye to his team with a smile as the airship took off, leaving him with about a hundred other students saying goodbye to their friends for a month. Acadian shuffled by the students and returned to the dorm, leaning against the closed door, sighing at the quiet and peace that now accompanied him. For Acadian, he didn't want to leave because he wanted time to himself but also because of a message he had received from his family.

"Acadian, you better not be in Vale or Vacuo," his brother had told him in a voicemail he had received two weeks before, "Because I'm in Vale thanks to a joint military drill. If I see you so help me God Acadian I am dragging you back to Vacuo and mom nor dad will let you have a life."

Acadian knew his team had his back but he didn't want them to get involved. He was tired of the messages from his family and frankly just wanted time to himself. While he had grown close to his friends, they had also gotten into bits of trouble because of Crimson's pompousness, his own smart mouth and Nadia and Yura's quick hands. Acadian's daydreaming of silence was interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Yura, I swear to God, if you forgot-"

"It's not Private Amaranth," he heard on the other side of the door. Acadian quickly threw the door open and couldn't help but smile at the person standing in the doorway.

"Sorry Chief," he said with a smile to Winter Schnee, who returned the smile.

"No need to apologize Acadian. Why are you still here?"

"Ah, familial things, thought I would just stay here and unwind," Acadian said, walking to his bed and motioning for Winter to enter, "You?"

"Didn't want to go back to my father," she said, talking a step inside the room and looking around.

"Don't blame you," Acadian said, his eyes never leaving the Chief Warrant Officer, "So, what if I wasn't here?"

"Pardon?" Winter asked.

"Well, if I wasn't here, would you be upset?"

"No, of course not, I was just curious if one of my friends was still here," Winter replied, Acadian smiling at the response before she continued, "I also came because I thought you and I could walk around Atlas now that we have a month's leave. We can finally talk in the open and get to know each other a bit more. Does that sound okay?"

"Sounds great," he replied, holding his smile as he stood up and walked over to Winter. Winter watched him, noticing that the young man's hand was shaking possibly from excitement, which she couldn't help but chuckle at.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"Nothing at all," she answered, leaving the room with Acadian on her heels. The two chatted as they walked to and boarded a waiting Bullhead that flew them into the capital of the kingdom of Atlas. The two walked around in the cold weather for an hour, a light snow fall accompanying their various conversations. Acadian took in the futuristic feel of the city while making sure to give Winter attention as well, knowing that she would snap at him if she thought he wasn't paying attention. Eventually the two walked into a small coffee shop and took a window seat, trying to warm up, staying silent for a few moments, allowing Acadian to stare out at the boisterous, busy scene of the capital city. Winter couldn't help but look at him and smile, glad to have someone like him since none of her fellow Spec Ops members had really taken an interest in her.

"What are you staring at?" she asked him, causing him to snap back to attention.

"Sorry, I'm still taking in everything. Like, this is my first time seeing snow… it's so awesome!" Acadian said with a big smile. Winter couldn't help but smile at the enthusiasm he was showing.

"Don't get much in Vacuo?"

"Never," Acadian replied, "And the snow is just so beautiful… it's just like…" he said, slowly turning his head to Winter, who looked at him with a cocked eyebrow, waiting for him to finish.

"It's just?"

"Nothing, can I get you something to drink Chief?"

"Only if you tell me how you were going to finish your sentence Private."

"Oh come on Chief-"

"Oh come on Chief nothing," she snapped back, Acadian slightly snorting at her response because this is how they were at times: if he said the wrong thing she turned on him quick.

"Alright, I'll tell you after I get us some coffee, okay?" Acadian asked, getting a nod of approval from Winter. In reality Acadian had no idea how he was going to doge this bullet but had time to think as he stood in the line. Acadian wanted to tell Winter how beautiful he thought she was and how he cared so much about her, his feelings for her growing over the past months after spending so much time with her. However, the way she was to him, he didn't know for sure how she felt and he also knew that kind of fraternization was all but forbidden by the Atlas military.

Acadian came back from his day-dreaming however when he heard someone yelling in the shop coming from the booth that he and Winter were sitting at.

"What the fuck is a Schnee doing here?! Come to buy all of us and throw us into one of your Dust mines?!" a fox-faunus male yelled inches from Winter's unemotional face. Acadian stepped out of line and took a step forward in case things escalated.

"Sir, I would appreciate it if-"

"I would appreciate it if you just fucking keeled over right now!" he yelled, Winter slightly moving an eyebrow up at the statement. She began to stand but was shoved back down by the young man yelling at her.

"Where the fuck-WHOA!" he yelled as Acadian stepped forward, grabbed his shoulder and turned him around violently.

"I suggest not laying a hand on her again," Acadian saw in a low growl that didn't faze the man.

"Oh, looky here, she already has someone following her around, just brilliant."

"Look, were both here just to get out of the cold because we're on leave from the military academy. Calm it down," Acadian said, staring hard into the man's eyes, who returned his gaze.

"So, a little solider is willing to defend a woman whose family has fucked my kind-"

"We all know what her family has done, that doesn't mean she's done it herself."

"Are you really defending this bitch?"

"Call her a bitch again and I'm gonna have you screaming like one," Acadian said, pressing forward, his hands curled into fists.

"Private!" he heard, he and the man turning to Winter, who was now standing and scooting out of the booth, "Stop. We are leaving."

"Chief-"

"Private this is not a matter for discussion," she said, straightening her jacket before walking by the two of them. Acadian turned to the man to try and intimate him one more time before walking over to Winter.

"Yeah, follow her around like the little bitch you are! Just wait, in a week she'll have you in the mines!" he said with a cocky smirk. Acadian took a deep breath and looked at Winter, mouthing the words _I'm sorry_ to her. Before Winter could react Acadian took a half-step back and landed a solid boot to the man's chin, flooring him. As Winter reached for Acadian he turned and strode forward, avoiding Winter's hand, grabbing the man's collar, picking him up and slamming him into a wall.

"Say any of that shit again, I dare you… you won't like what I do to you."

Acadian finally got the response he wanted from the man, a look of fear and uncertainty that never left his face as Acadian shoved him against the wall then let him go. Acadian turned and walked past the stunned patrons and angry commanding officer into the cold of the Atlas Kingdom. Winter was hot on his heels, trying her best to stay calm but knew that she wouldn't be able to.

"What the hell was that Private!?" she yelled on the sidewalk, the quiet patter of snow fall accompanying her shouting. Acadian shook his head and walked away from her which only angered the Chief Warrant Officer even more.

"Private Acadian Zaffre, at attention!" she yelled. Acadian stopped on muscle memory and straightened his body, his arms at his sides, a few people looking on in confusion as Winter raced up to him.

"How dare you not respond to me Private?! Who do you think you are?!" she yelled in his face, Acadian not flinching as she kept yelling, "Do you know how much trouble you are in?! You've just soiled the uniform you are wearing! You're gonna be lucky if-"

"I get it Winter!" he yelled, shocking her, "I get it, okay?! I fucked up! I…" he stopped, taking a deep breath to calm down, "I know, okay? I know… but I've never let anyone talk to my friends like that and I'll be damned if I start letting it happen today, especially to you," he said, Winter's cheeks going slightly red at the last thing he said.

"What do you mean?"

"He doesn't know what you've gone through, I do. He doesn't know how much you're hurting because of your family's legacy, I do. Why wouldn't I defend you? You deserve it," Acadian said. Winter looked at him with eyes he hadn't seen before, eyes that seemed to portray a new emotion. Was it appreciation? Maybe love? Before he could continue to think on it however Winter interrupted him.

"You know he's going to report to the higher ups."

"Let him, I don't care."

"You could be discharged Acadian."

* * *

"At attention!" yelled the Military Policeman, all rising at attention as three generals, led by General James Ironwood, walked into the courtroom, taking seats at an elongated, rectangular table. In front of them was Acadian, who was seated at his own table that was centered on the three generals and behind him were rows of fellow students, including his team and Winter. One month had passed since the incident in the coffee shop and the trial was just now happening due to a separate investigation by the army.

"Be seated," Ironwood said, everyone taking their seats including the two generals but not Ironwood, who held a piece of paper in his hand.

"Private Acadian Zaffre, you are charged with disorderly conduct, assault and battery. How do you plead?"

"Not guilty general."

"Noted, let's begin," Ironwood said, taking a seat in the middle of the two generals. For three hour's multiple testimonies were heard, from his team to various students and the man that he assaulted. At last Acadian was called to the witness stand and was ready for any question.

"Private Zaffre," one of the generals began, "What were you and CWO Schnee doing out in the capital?"

"Just talking to each other, enjoying the cold weather."

"Is that all?"

"Are you trying to imply something general?"

"Well do know that it is illegal for Hunters enrolled in the Spec Ops program and regular soldiers to fraternize as you two were doing?" he asked, Acadian somewhat shocked at the information.

"No, I did not know that."

"Do you know the consequences of such actions?"

"No sir."

"Either one or both could be dismissed from the program. We always want to make sure our Spec Ops officers are fully focused on serving this great kingdom, thus why for such a harsh penalty. Now I want to ask you something and I would like to remind you that you are under oath: who decided to go out that day?"

"Might I ask why that is important sir?"

"Because we need to get to the bottom of every aspect of this case. We also need to make sure the uniform that you wish to wear is not sullied again by such rash actions which only happened because you were out with a commanding officer that you are friends with. We want soldiers that can rely on each other and uphold the strict standards of this army without being distracted by such silly situations. So who was it that had this idea?"

Acadian looked down at the microphone that was in front of him before looking up while General Ironwood leaned over and talked to his colleague in hushed tones. Among the many faces he could easily spot Winter, who had the slightest hint of terror in her eyes, something Acadian never wanted to see again.

"I did sir."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes sir, I texted CWO Schnee on her personal Scroll with my own, asked her to come over to the barracks and then we walked out to the airfield."

"You know we can check Scrolls."

"I do sir and if you decide to do that you would see that I'm telling the truth," Acadian lied, Winter giving him a 'What are you doing?!' look. Right as the general was going to ask another question General Ironwood stood up.

"Private Acadian you're saying you initiated the contact with CWO Schnee, went to the coffee shop and when the young man accosted her you lost your temper? That is your story?"

"Yes sir General Ironwood," Acadian said, looking at him. General Ironwood sat back down, motioned for the general that had been questioning Acadian and then pushed the microphones away. The three talked in hushed tones for a few minutes before the general retook his seat and Ironwood stood.

"Alright Private, due to this being your first offense coupled with a solid record you are hereby put on probation for the rest of your time here. You will also be placed on academic probation: if you let any grades slip below a C+ you will be discharged. Understood?"

"Yes general," Acadian said with a nod, a flood of relief coming over him and his teammates.

"Court dismissed," Ironwood said loudly so everyone could hear. There was confused chatter to match the announcement as Acadian got up, straightened his uniform and walked over to his team, all of whom were beaming.

"Damn we should've brought you along trouble-maker," Crimson said, embracing Acadian who couldn't help but chuckle.

"Yeah I guess so."

"You got by the skin of your teeth bro," Yura said, he and Acadian sharing a fist bump.

"Couldn't agree more Mr. 'Oh we're only friends I swear,'" Nadia said with a grin while Acadian shook his head before sharing a hug with her.

"Oh shut it."

"Come on, let's go celebrate," Yura said.

"Wait how?" Crimson asked.

"I dunno, I thought one of you guys could figure it out," he said, the team chuckling as they left the court room. Acadian took a deep breath and slid back as another team joined them, allowing him to look around and find the person he was looking for.

"Hey Chief," he said with a smile to Winter, who just stared at him, "Problem?"

"Why did you lie on the stand Private?" Winter whispered when he got close so only he could hear.

"Did you really think I was going to jeopardize your military career?"

"And what about yours?"

"Hell if this doesn't pan out I'm still a Hunter in training."

"Acadian-"

"I'm serious Winter," he said, laying a hand on her shoulder, "This means a lot to you. So does my career but I've got a back-up. You want to make a name for yourself and like hell I was going to be the reason that got fucked up."

The two shared a smile, staring into each other's eyes for a few seconds before Winter shook her head and moved Acadian's hand.

"I have to go; I need to chat with a few officers."

"Well I'll see you around then, okay?"

"Okay," she said with a smile. Acadian patted her shoulder lightly, turned and walked away, leaving Winter Schnee to stare and think about the possibilites.

* * *

 **Ah, this was a fun one to write. I really need to get back to writing (I've been taking time off for a few things, mainly No Man's Sky, which IS BRILLIANT). Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and I really like where the story is going, can't wait to share more of it with you guys. As always, I thank you guys for taking time out of your busy day to read this, it is always greatly appreciated. Please do review, fav, follow or any of that other good jazz! See you guys next week!**


	18. War Never Changes

Chapter 18

Two years had passed since Acadian was nearly court-martialed for his actions in the coffee shop. In those two years he and team CYAN had grown into one of the top squads in both the Hunter Academy and Military Academy. With this rise meant that they became more prominent and looked up to by other students, something Crimson took with glee. The four hadn't really changed much in the two years save for different hair styles. They had taken a stronger liking to each other even though three were in agreement that one was letting it get to his head.

"Crimson's been going crazy lately hasn't he?" Nadia asked her two teammates as they walked the grounds, huddled in jackets.

"Signing us up for frontline duty on the Sim and we got a mission with another team next month… yeah, I outta shoot him for all that," Acadian said.

"True but hey, more experience and we haven't had a bad day yet, so are you guys really worried?" Yura asked.

"Eh, just saying, I think he wants to prove too much, you know?" Nadia asked, her two friends agreeing with nodding heads. They continued to walk, chatting about small things until Nadia nudged Acadian with her elbow.

"Ice Queen 11 o'clock."

"Oh shut up," he said to her, the three sharing a chuckle as Acadian waved goodbye to them and walked to Winter, who was talking with two fellow Spec Ops officers. Her feelings toward Acadian had grown since the trial and two could tell that something was there. Within two years Acadian saw Winter as extremely gorgeous with nothing out of place while she saw him as a handsome man who had become extremely mature in two years. He was always willing to listen, was ready to defend her and even though she got on him for a lot of things she enjoyed the company that he gave her all the time. For both of them though, neither didn't want to act for different reasons: Acadian didn't want to jeopardize Winter's career and Winter wasn't sure if they could spend enough time together.

Acadian approached the three officers and waited, not wanting to interrupt. One of the two male officers looked at him in confusion as his friend and Winter looked with him.

"The hell you standing there for private?" the officer asked, Acadian's face going red.

"I, uh, sorry, I didn't want to interrupt sir," he said with a salute that was waved off by the other officer.

"It's fine private, what's up?"

"Is it okay if I borrow Chief Schnee for a quick minute?"

"Whoa, watch out Schnee," the first said to Winter and nudged her with his fist, "Looks like you got someone on your coattail."

"Shut it Bekowsky," she said with her trademark coldness, the two officers chuckling as she turned her attention to Acadian, "Anything you want to say can be said in the presence of these two. Bekowsky and Stewart are friends."

"Oh, okay, uh… so, next month there's a fair coming to the capital."

"Oh yeah, you remember that don't you Randy?" Bekowsky asked his friend.

"The funnel cakes are so good."

"So good."

"Shut it, now!" Winter yelled at the two, who laughed at her reaction, Winter shaking her head in annoyance before turning back to Acadian, "What about the fair private?"

"Well, I was wondering… because my team and a few others were planning on going to it… maybe you and a few officers would like to come?"

"Are any of the females coming along single?" Stewart asked.

"You're such a horndog Randy," Winter said, shaking her head.

"Hell I second his question," Bekowsky said, the three men chuckling before stopping when Winter gave them cold looks.

"I don't know Private Zaffre."

"I understand Chief Schnee," Acadian said with a saddened smile. Before he could turn away however Stewart stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

"Hang on, this would be a blast. We need a bit of time off. Come on Winter, we can get a few more officers. It's not like any of us are going to get in trouble anyway, we can use it as a giant group activity, I'm sure the higher ups would like that."

Silence hung in the air as Winter thought it over. She knew why Acadian was actually asking her: he wanted to use the fair as a date, as a testing ground for the two of them.

"I'll think it over, okay private?" she asked. Her two friends shook their heads but Acadian acknowledged her answer and said goodbye to the three. Thirty second later however he was met with a tug of his arm. He turned to see Winter, which instantly made him nervous.

"Uh… hi?"

"You know you have a lot of nerve to ask me that."

"To be fair you said I could say anything in front of your friends."

"I didn't expect that Acadian, what the hell were you thinking?" she asked, trying to hide her anger. Acadian was now stuck with a major quandary, either tell her what he's wanted to for the about the past year or make up a lie. As Acadian went over his options in that split second, he remembered a quote Crimson loved from one of his favorite movies: _Time to nutt up or shut up._

"Do you remember when we were at the coffee shop and you got mad at me?"

"Somewhat, why?"

"You wouldn't let me get coffee unless I told you the rest of my thought."

"And?"

"It was about how I thought how beautiful the snow was… just like you," Acadian said, Winter's cheeks quickly going beet red as Acadian looked down then back at her, "So, I guess I was thinking that maybe we could try for a few months. W-what do you say?" he asked, his eyes going wide at his stutter, mentally cursing himself for it. They shared a look for a minute, neither being able to look away until Winter turned on her heels.

"Just get ready for the simulator," she said over her shoulder before walking away. Acadian looked at his feet before turning to the barracks, thinking he had horribly screwed up and now had to look forward to the simulator.

* * *

Every year the Atlas Military Academy held what students dubbed 'The Simulator'. To the generals, it was the Frontlines of War Simulator, or FOWS. At one point during student's sophomore, junior or senior years they were drafted with their squad to fight a battle that simulated specific conditions set by the generals. Every student had to participate when their team was drafted or they would not graduate.

Every student came equipped with standard issue armor that was rigged to send a nullifying shock to either their entire body or a specific body part depending on where they were hit by a pellet from their mock assault rifles. This helped the generals determine who were the better teams, who could lead the front line charge if war did break out amongst the kingdoms once again.

Team CYAN walked into a briefing that two other Hunter teams were attending as well, PRPL and FLME. Everyone was geared up and ready to go, some starting conversations that were quickly cut off when they stood at attention thanks to a few officers and general Ironwood walking into the room. Acadian perked his eyebrows up when he saw who one of the officers was.

"At ease everyone," the general began, "On the ground you'll see large red circles, that is where live-fire artillery will be landing. Stay outside the red circle and you won't be hit. This helps us test how you cope with large explosions, aftershock and ringing in your ears. As you all know, Spec Ops and graduated officers are handling multiple teams on this simulation. You three are with Chief Warrant Officer Winter Schnee, top of the class in Spec Ops. Any problems with that?" he asked, getting shaking heads as a response. Ironwood motioned to Winter, who nodded her head and stepped forward as a 3D image of the battlefield appeared in front of everyone.

"Team's PRPL and FLME will be inserted on the right flank via Bullhead that will help put pressure on the enemy and stop their offensive. Team CYAN will be inserted on the frontlines thanks to Private Sayre volunteering them for such duty. You will make your way west through the trench and support PRPL and FLME whenever you reach them. When the right flank collapses seven squads will join you and your task then will be to drive east then forward. Questions?"

"How quickly are we expected to join them?" Nadia asked.

"As quickly as possible. Remember, as Hunter teams, we are expecting you to use your enhanced abilities to help in the fight."

"And if a team goes down?" a member of team PRPL asked.

"We'll pick up your slack," Winter shot back with a cold tone. Acadian and Yura couldn't help but chuckle at the answer as the room fell silent with her answer. The two were given looks of disapproval from the higher ranking officials, making the two cough to try and hide their embarrassment. After a few more mundane questions the three teams were dismissed to grab their rifles and prepare for mocked war.

* * *

"30 SECONDS!" they heard the gunner above them yell. Team CYAN was all alone in a APC that roared through a jungle near the capital city. Thanks to mammoth industrial heaters, the snow that usually blanketed the ground was gone and in its place was flowing green grass, tall trees and a mixture of solid dirt and loose mud. Atlas had held the simulator outside for the past twenty years to give the students the 'proper' feel of a live battlefield instead of the safe and controlled confines of a large simulator room. Yura yawned, Nadia cracked her neck, Crimson was focused and Acadian checked his ammo clip one last time as the APC crawled forward, pellets clanging off its enhanced armor from the sides.

"So, who's dying first?" Yura asked, lightening the mood, getting snickers from Nadia and Acadian.

"No one," Crimson answered with authority.

"Oh come on, one of is."

"Five lien on you Yura," Nadia said.

"What?!"

"Hell I'll take that," Acadian added, further annoying their teammates. Just as Crimson was about to yell at them the APC stopped.

"Ready door!" the gunner yelled in between bursts from his mounted machine gun. The four stacked up on the sides of the door, two on each side, ready to go. The door burst forward and onto the ground but before any of them could go through it the small opening was filled with pellets from the opposing forces.

"Son of a bitch," Acadian said with a sigh of annoyance, "Hey gunner! Take them- oh," he said, his teammates turning to see the gunner slumped over, a grimace on his face.

"Ow," he said, not being able to move thanks to the armor that was now locked up.

"Well, shit," Yura said. The four didn't move until Crimson shook his head, grabbed a EMP grenade and chucked it out, the blast locking up enemy armor if they were in the area. It went off and the four charged out guns blazing, their Hunter weapons hanging on their hips or backs as they dove for the man-made trench. There they exchanged a hail of gunfire with multitudes of students while being stuck with fellow military students. Slowly they moved right while popping up to take shots at any enemy soldiers they saw.

Finally reaching the right flank, Yura charged out first but was met with two shots, one at his shin the other hitting his chest, taking him off his feet.

"Damn it!" he yelled while lying flat on his back, not trying to hide his annoyance as Crimson took blind shots, Acadian bursting into a hearty laughter at the sight of his teammate.

"Fucking knew it," Acadian said after calming down, earning a glare from Crimson who then turned to Nadia.

"Shield, now," he said. Nadia nodded, took her shield off her back and threw it with all her might at a couple of enemy soldiers, cleanly hitting one. His friend turned to run and was quickly dropped with two shots from Acadian. The three ran to their downed friend and dragged him back into the trench.

"Medic!" Acadian yelled out as the other two checked Yura's 'wounds'.

"Damn it… this sucks."

"Your own fault man."

"Shut it Acadian."

"He's not wrong."

"Shut it Nadia!" Yura said, all except Crimson sharing a light chuckle as a medic ran to them and started to look over Yura. The three trudged on, soon rendezvousing with the other teams, PRPL still having all four members but FLME being down to two.

"What happened to you guys?" Nadia asked the team, who looked defeated.

"Ambush man, pisses me off," the leader of the team said, not hiding his anger as the nine pushed forward, running into light resistance as they did. They could hear and saw a couple of artillery shots land, rattling their senses as they pushed forward.

"Remind me why they do that."

"Give us battle experience, make us feel as though we're really in it," Crimson said over his shoulder to Acadian.

"Stupid."

"It's not Private."

"You mean Acadian?"

"I mean Private!" Crimson yelled, turning around to face his teammate, "Take this seriously Acadian, come on."

"Dude, it's not-"

"Damn it Acadian you know it is! Come on!" Crimson said, taking a step closer to his teammate. Nadia stepped between the two to make sure it didn't escalate and to try and get them to focus. The two stared at each other for a few seconds before they caught up with the two teams and continued to push forward. The quietness allowed Acadian to take in the beauty of the forest the teams were moving through.

Lush, full trees that reached the sky dotted the landscape and the teams were moving over loose ground that was covered with soft leaves. Roots rose from the ground covered in moss that added to the natural feel that Acadian missed from his days in Vacuo. It was a beautiful scene that was marred by the scenes and sounds of war such as bursts of fire or artillery that brought Acadian back to the task at hand.

"Red circle," a member of team PRPL said, pointing to that was about 400 feet away. Acadian heard an artillery shot in the air and looked up to see the large round seemingly hanging in the air. Acadian stopped in his tracks when he felt a heavy gust of wind push against him, his gaze never leaving the shot as the wind bellowed.

"Guys, I think the wind is fucking with the trajectory of that artillery shot!" he yelled as everyone looked up at the shot that was coming in quickly.

"Double time it!" Crimson yelled and the nine ran forward. A whistling sound filled the air as it closed in, filling the students with terror as they ran as quickly as their legs could move. Acadian heard someone running behind him and turned to an enemy soldier closing on them, readying her rifle and aiming at Nadia. Acadian knew the shell would impact mere feet from her so he charged forward at the soldier, who looked at him in shock as he grabbed her, turned and took off as fast as he could towards his comrades. Just two seconds after a horrific explosion ripped behind Acadian, launching him forward with the female soldier still in his arms. His vision went black and Acadian couldn't hear a thing as he slowly rolled off the female solider, who looked shocked at what happened. Acadian's vision returned and he could feel the vibrations of multiple people running to him, which was confirmed when Crimson slid next to him, ripping his helmet off and shaking his friend.

"Acadian!" Crimson yelled, still shaking his friend, who didn't react. Acadian could only hear buzzing in his ears. He looked up at Crimson, who motioned to someone that was out of Acadian's sight. He laid there, breathing slowly, before tilting his head down and looking at his right leg. Multiple pieces of shrapnel filled his right leg from the middle of the thigh down to his ankle and blood trickled out from every wound. His breathing quickened and a waterfall of pain filled his body followed by a guttural scream.

"Call a medic now!" Nadia yelled at Crimson, who was panicking and trying to cover his teammates wounds. The leader of FLME called in over his radio, asking for a real medic and giving a basic overview of what happened. Acadian's screams continued even as a booming voice a PA system asked all students to stand down. Nadia was helping Crimson with the wounds, trying to either pull shrapnel out or quickly cover wounds while Acadian's head laid on the lap of the female soldier he had saved, trying to comfort him as pain rolled through his body. Tense seconds went by, tears flowed down the sides of the wounded students face and no one spoke until a Bullhead began its landing procedure. The side doors opened to four medics with kits and a stretcher, accompanied by none other then Winter Schnee.

"What the hell happened?!" she yelled as the medics moved Crimson, Nadia and the female student out of the way so they could work on Acadian.

"I…I… I don't-"

"Speak Private!" she yelled at Crimson.

"Ma'am," a member of team PRPL strode forward with a salute, "A heavy gust of wind blew threw the area and he saw the artillery shot had changed direction, being south of its designated hit area. I guess the enemy soldier was coming from behind because I heard the explosion and turned to see him roll off her."

"Is that true?" Winter asked Nadia and Crimson, who nodded their heads, still trying to calm themselves down, grunts and whines of pain coming just a few feet away, "Sayre with me. Squads go back to base," she said, turning and walking over to Acadian, kneeling next to a medic that was applying bandages, "How bad?"

"We count at least 30 pieces of shrapnel and just as many wounds," the medic said, Acadian taking in a sharp breath at that news that scared Winter.

"It's okay Acadian," she said tenderly, gently squeezing his shoulder to reassure him in any way possible. Crimson couldn't help but snort very lightly to himself, knowing full well that, in a way, that shell could've been the best thing for his teammate. Acadian was loaded onto a stretcher and soon he, the medics, Crimson and Winter were in the air heading back to the infirmary.

* * *

Acadian sighed to himself in annoyance and also in pain. An IV in his arm, typical hospital bed and uniform were the only things in or around him. The hospital room itself was, not shockingly, stark white and was barren since very few students got injured, or so a nurse told him when checking on him. A few days had passed since the simulation, which was completed a day ago, and an official investigation by Atlas showed that a storm was coming into the capital that none of the officers had looked into, thus every single officer, student or graduate, was put on probation. Meanwhile, Acadian had been keeping himself busy with reading and thinking, mainly about Winter. It was in one of these spells of far-off thinking that the officer found her friend in.

"Acadian," she said, snapping him from his trance.

"Ah! Oh, hey Chief, what're you doing here?" he said with a smile to Winter, who just stared.

"Officially, checking on a solider that was under my command that was injured. Unofficially, checking on my friend. How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Alright, docs said it should be a week at most. Everything okay?"

"Fine," she said, grabbing a chair and sitting it next to the bed while Acadian watched.

"Winter-"

"I just hate that none of us looked into the damn weather, okay?" she asked, snapping at him. Acadian held his hands up in a sorry gesture, further annoying Winter.

"No, I'm sorry, I-"

"Whoa, did I just hear you say sorry?" Acadian asked with a grin. This was the Acadian that Winter had grown to care for and also wanted to punch: caring, not wanting to aggravate her all the time but knew just when to do it. Just as she was about to go off on him, they were interrupted by his teammates.

"Sup cripple," Yura said, Acadian the only one laughing at the remark, "Oh! Sorry Chief, didn't see you there."

"It's fine Private."

"Man, you want to joke on me dying and then you go and get your leg screwed up, nicely done."

"Oh shut it Yura," Acadian said, the two sharing a fist-bump as Crimson laid down a small box near Acadian's arm, confusing him. Acadian looked at the four then at the box, opening it slowly then beaming at what it was: The Atlas Golden Heart, given to soldiers who have been injured in the line of duty.

"Holy shit," Acadian said, holding a look of awe as he took the medal out to inspect it. It was a silver medal shaped in a traditional heart shape with a golden filling and the symbol of Atlas in the middle of it.

"Congrats," Crimson said with apathy, Acadian's enthrallment disappearing at his friend's tone.

"The hell is wrong with you?"

"Guys-"

"Hang on Nadia," Acadian said, sitting up and looking at Crimson, "The hell is wrong?" he asked, getting a sigh from Yura, who looked down at the ground.

"Crim's mad because the three of us got in trouble. I did for carelessly moving into the line of fire and these two for not answering a superior officer and for allowing the situation to get to them."

"It's bullshit."

"Crimson, it would've happened to me, it's fine man," Acadian said but Crimson did not want to hear any of it, walking away from the group.

"The fuck?"

"It is kinda bull Acadian, you have to admit," Nadia said.

"I mean yeah, but-"

"You know how he is and you know that we… we just want recognition too."

"Nadia, I literally had-"

"I know Acadian, it just… it sucks," she said before walking away. Acadian rolled his eyes and put the medal back in the small box before handing it to Yura.

"What?"

"Tell Ironwood I don't want it."

"Dude-"

"No, fuck that, I'm not taking it," Acadian replied curtly. Yura looked at him before shrugging his shoulders and walking away, saying goodbye to his teammate and Winter. Winter and Acadian sat in silence, Acadian sighing in frustration, rubbing his eyes before laying back and looking at the ceiling.

"They're very short-sighted."

"I know."

"You don't go into the army for the glory."

"Which is why I wanted to get into the Navy."

"Really?" Winter asked.

"Yup, but parents thought Army would be better. My parent's house is 10 minutes from the beach so I always went there, taking in the ships, the ocean… man I miss that stuff," Acadian said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Sorry to hear that," Winter said, patting his hand. Acadian looked at her and smiled, which she returned.

"Hey, uh, thanks for being there to try and calm me down, I appreciate it."

"Of course Acadian," she said, getting up and putting the chair back, "Sadly, I have to go, I have to fill out reports on everything that happened."

"Completely understand, have fun with paperwork," he replied.

"Oh I will."

"Wow, a bit of sarcasm from Winter Schnee, that has to be a first. Am I rubbing off on you Chief?" he asked with a grin that made Winter roll her eyes. She turned to walk away but stopped, turned back to Acadian and walked over to him, looking down at him with those light-blue eyes that Acadian loved to stare into. He was confused as to what she was doing because she stayed silent until she leaned down and ever so lightly placed a kiss on his forehead. His cheeks went red as did hers as she stood straight and smiled at him.

"I… would love to go to the fair. Maybe we can do something before then, like coffee or dinner? Something that we can do quickly so no one notices."

"That sounds absolutely brilliant," Acadian said with a big smile that Winter couldn't help but chuckle at. She left Acadian, content and happy about the future while Acadian was just excited at the opportunity of a new journey.

* * *

 **I literally put like three or four references in the beginning of this chapter and I love all of them lol they fit really good. So this is a chapter that, again, I've been wanting to write for a while. Good character building in my opinion and it just works really well, I really dig it. Anyway, bad news: so, I haven't really worked on Chapter 19. I'm starting a new job tomorrow at a bank and in the mean time I just haven't been writing. I'm hoping that I will get 19 done and then start on 20 soon, I literally planned out the rest of the story while at my job so I should be on a path now. I hope you guys liked the chapter and I will (HOPEFULLY) be back next Sunday with 20. Until then, thank you so much for reading and if you really dig it leave a review, fav or follow!**


	19. Anything for Love

**Hello all! Sorry this has been posted late, I'll have many more notes at the bottom!**

 **Quick FYI: there is sex in this chapter, look out!**

* * *

Chapter 19

Bright lights and wondrous sounds mixed with a cacophony of yelling, screaming, joy and a few tears from children. Team CYAN walked amongst the crowd, enjoying the warm summer evening, talking and joking with each other. In the months since the simulation Acadian's leg had fully healed and it seemed that his relationship with his friends had as well. In the meantime, Acadian and Winter had been doing their best to hide their relationship, making sure no commanding officers saw anything for fear of what would happen to them. He and Winter had enjoyed the few dates they had gone on, both excited at what their future held as they continued to learn more about each other and had gained a much deeper appreciation for the other.

The team was joined by four teams and nine Spec Ops officers, all of whom needed the time off as finals were around the corner for all of them.

"So where's your hot date Acadian?" Crimson asked with a smirk. While Acadian tried to hide the relationship from his team, they had guessed long ago that something was going on between the two.

"Oh I'm looking at him," Acadian replied with ravenous eyes aimed at Yura, who stopped eating his pink cotton candy and stared at Acadian with concern.

"Uhhhh," he replied, Acadian and Nadia laughing at Yura, Crimson rolling his eyes at the response.

"Oh come on Acadian."

"Look Crim, nothing's going on between the two of us, we just like to hang out."

"When no one is looking," Nadia began.

"Possibly behind closed doors," Crimson added.

"Mayhap in a bed," Yura finished, Nadia looking at him.

"Mayhap?"

"I can be fancy every once in a while," he countered, the group chuckling at him.

"Okay, look. We just like to hang out because… it's just nice and no, I've never been in her bed."

"Sure Acadian," Crimson said, annoyed at his friends lies, shaking his head as they continued on, a bit of tension still between the two after the incident in the hospital room. They continued to walk, trying to have joyful conversation to avoid a fight, which stopped when they came across a water-gun game.

"Oh fuck yes," Nadia said, running towards the simple game with her teammates in tow. They took four seats, paid the small lien price and readied themselves for a showdown of epic proportions.

"We look like fucking idiots," Acadian said, everyone bursting in laughter as the man running the small stand counted down and turned the water on. The four aimed at the small holes in front of them and sprayed water in, Acadian quickly winning and claiming a small teddy bear as his prize. He gloated with the bear, calling it Mr. Cuddles and showing it off to his teammates, who got annoyed with his showboating. Acadian did stop however when he looked and saw a very familiar face, telling his teammates he would be back. In confident strides he made his way to his secretive girlfriend, placing a hand on her hip and standing next to her, Winter Schnee not breaking her gaze from a food stand menu but a small smile came to her face.

"Acadian."

"Sweetie," Acadian said with a smile, squeezing her side, "Want some food?"

"I might…"

"I'll pay, don't worry. Oh! I got, well, rather won, a teddy bear for you," Acadian said with a confident grin as he handed the little bear to Winter, who chuckled at it.

"Aww, aren't you sweet," she said, looking around before placing a quick kiss on his cheek, "I got you something as well."

"Oh sweet, you got me a teddy bear?"

"Not exactly," she said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a small box. Acadian looked at the box with curiosity, taking it from her and opening it to reveal a white cord necklace with a silver locket that had an anchor with a sword going through it horizontally. Acadian couldn't help but look at it with glee as he looked it over then put it on with his girlfriend's help.

"And?" she asked. Acadian looked around, knowing she would be furious at his response, because he suddenly wrapped his arms around her and kissed her lips, Winter at first glaring but quickly accepting the kiss as their mouths moved around each other's for a few seconds before Winter broke it off.

"Is that an answer?"

"Don't do that again," she replied, Acadian giggling at her response.

"Fine. But, I do need a picture… we need to take a selfie."

"Oh no we don't!"

"Oh come on! I need something in the locket!" he countered. Winter looked at him thoroughly annoyed until relenting, allowing him to pull his Scroll out. She wrapped her arms around him and smiled as he held the Scroll up and took two pictures, one of them just hugging and another of him kissing her forehead. He bought her a small funnel cake and the two found Bekowsky and Stewart, who were chilling to the side. The two walked around, Bekowsky winning a carnival game and Acadian winning another, him and Winter taking a picture there as well with wicked smiles on their faces. Acadian left her an hour later and regrouped with his team, who didn't ask where he had wondered off to, smirks on their faces telling Acadian they knew, which he ignored. He fiddled with his new necklace for the rest of their stay at the carnival up to them walking onto a Bullhead to take them home. It landed soon after, Acadian distancing himself from his team because of a text he received.

 _108, 10PM, officers barracks._

Acadian couldn't help but grin because he had a feeling his night was about to get a lot better.

"You sure no one is around?"

"Bekowsky and Stewart said that they were throwing a 'hope you live through finals' party, so I thought now would be the best time."

"For what?"

"I'll show you," Winter said to Acadian after closing the door, walking in front of him in her room. Her room looked much like the room that Acadian had shared with his team over the past three years, just with one bed instead of four. Acadian took the lead, picking Winter up and placing her on her bed gently before lying next to her and sharing a kiss with her. Their kiss grew from a simple peck to loving to wanting in mere seconds, lips crashing into each other and tongues entwining as hands dragged and groped and slid in between various body parts. Clothing fell to the floor in heaps and soon the two lovers were naked in each other's arms, both taking in the others body.

Acadian grinned at Winter's, who looked at him with an air of nervousness he wasn't used to seeing in the officer. He moved his hands over her curves to her C-cup breasts, massaging them slowly, eliciting low moans that was music to his ears.

"A-Acadian…" she whispered, running a hand over his toned chest before he leaned down to take an erect nipple into his mouth, flicking his tongue to generate even greater moans from his girlfriend. Winter relented but soon composed herself again, having just enough strength to lift his head from her nipple.

"Yes darling?" he asked with a cocky grin that she wanted to slap off him.

"Acadian, this is… this is my first time," she said, not knowing how he would react.

"Well that's not shocking," he replied, Winter rolling her eyes at him, the urge to slap him growing with each passing second.

"Well do you have protection?"

"I do."

"Good, because I'm sure you have experience and I was hoping-"

"Oh no, you're my first too," he said, cutting her off. Winter looked at him in shock and was taken aback.

"Really?"

"Yeah, never got this far with any of the other four ladies I dated. Must say though… I think the wait has definitely been worth it," he said, quickly latching his lips onto hers before she could say anything else. Soon Acadian's mouth worked to her neck as he grabbed a blanket to wrap around them and grabbed his pants to get protection from his wallet. He continued to taste her neck with his mouth and tongue as he got into position and slowly pushed into Winter. She yelped in pain and Acadian stopped, caressing her cheek with his hand before she nodded and he pushed her further, eliciting another yell from her.

"Do you w-want me to s-stop?" he asked, the pressure around his member feeling amazing.

"N-no… just keep going slowly," she said. Acadian nodded and pushed further, more groans and slight yells of pain coming from her as he broke into her. He leaned down, burying his face into the pillow her head rested on and slid out, his penis covered in her juices and a little bit of her blood, something he did not want to see as he slid it back into her. This time Winter still felt pain but it was dulled to the waves of pleasure she was receiving. The waves increased as Acadian picked up his uneven pace, Winter wrapping her legs around him to pull him closer and drive him deeper into her.

"F-fuck Winter…" he said between labored breaths into her ear, turning her on even more as she gripped his back, his thrusts evening out with more ferocity.

"Oh Acadian… fuck!" she yelled as he went into her harder and faster, their moans filling the room, echoing off the walls along with the sounds of romantic lovemaking. They continued on for a few minutes, the sounds and their voices getting louder as what was once romantic turned heavy and fast that neither wanted to end.

"F-fuck! Winter, I'm g-gonna-"

"G-go ahead!" she yelled, pulling him in tight to her as she began to scream practically into his ear, the two reaching climax at nearly the same time. The two laid still for a minute, taking in deep breaths that were desperately needed before he raised himself up only to lay down on her, his lips meeting hers as he did. They kissed for a minute, taking in each other's taste as Acadian slowly slid out of Winter and repositioned himself to be next to her. They broke off the kiss and Winter kissed his shoulder before laying her head on it, Acadian reciprocating the action by wrapping his arms around her naked body tightly.

"I love you," he whispered, petting her hair as she spoke.

"I love you too," she said, a tired smile coming to her lips as the two drifted off to sleep together, both looking forward too many more night together.

A month had passed since Winter and Acadian's romantic night and the two became insatiable to the other. They always found ways to spend time together, from one happening upon the other talking to shared friends to private moments such as small dates or nights in Winter's bed. The two relished in the time together while others, mainly Acadian's team, were getting progressively annoyed with what they saw as a distraction. Acadian could care less however; he had only one year left before graduating. After that, he would only serve the minimum two years before becoming a full time Hunter, something he looked forward to being with his girlfriend. Today though his happy thoughts were gone and were replaced with nervousness because not only had Winter been sent on a mission early in the morning but he had been called to Ironwood's office during class that he had with his teammates.

Acadian knocked on a large oak door and waited, his hands behind his back as he rested on his heels. He took a deep breath as the door opened to the general, himself looking aged with small bags under his eyes and spots of grey adorning his temples.

"Ah, Private Zaffre," he said in his deep voice, moving to the side and motioning for Acadian to come in, which he did, "Thank you for coming on such short notice."

"Of course sir," Acadian replied, standing at attention in the large office until Ironwood motioned for him to sit in a chair in front of his desk while the general sat in a large chair behind his desk. The office Ironwood used was immaculate, starting with the white marble floor that covered the room. The walls were painted white and were covered with various awards, promotions and accommodations Ironwood had won over the years along with a few pieces of art. Behind Ironwood there was no wall, rather a large pane of glass that overlooked the capital. He sat in a black leather chair in front of a chic white steel desk that held various items and pictures turned away from Acadian, who was seated in a smaller black leather chair, one of two that was separated by a small, white, steel end table.

They sat in silence for a few moments, Ironwood typing on his computer while Acadian took the room in, not knowing what to say.

"Pardon me, I had to respond to a report," Ironwood said, turning from his computer and leaning forward, resting his elbows on the desk, interlocking his fingers, "I see classes have been going well."

"Yes sir. If you don't mind General-"

"Oh I know," Ironwood said, cutting Acadian off, "You're wondering why I've called you in. Private, how should I put this…" he began, his words wondering as he ran his fingers over his chin slowly, "We are in a state of war."

"We are, sir?"

"Do not interrupt," Ironwood responded, his eyes burrowing into Acadian's, "I've been privileged to this information by a small, select group of people, a group of people that know what is happening in the back doors, the shady parts of our world. Pawns are being moved, plans are being laid out and I believe that soon… soon we will be engulfed in another war. Why do you think we are always accepting new recruits such as yourself?"

"What does this have to do with me sir?" Acadian asked, Ironwood's words confusing him. What war, which people was he talking about? Had the general gone insane? Before he could ask any of those questions Ironwood reached inside his jacket and pulled out a recorder. He set it on his desk and hit play, the room soon filled with two female voices after a moment of silence.

 _"_ _Still going to re-enlist?"_

 _"_ _We have four years to worry about that Ash."_

 _"_ _Yeah but you were the one talking about it just a few months ago,"_ the woman said. Acadian's eyes went wide when he realized that the second woman's voice was one he recognized so well: Winter's.

 _"_ _I know."_

 _"_ _So what's up?"_

 _"_ _Nothing why?"_

" _Is it Acadian?"_

 _"_ _Shut it Ash."_

Ironwood clicked a button on the recorder and stared at Acadian, who was looking at him with a sense of horror. His breathing had become labored and he put a hand on his forehead, trying to calm himself down. Ironwood walked around to the front of the desk and leaned against it, crossing his arms and staring down at the young man.

"I'm going to make you a very simple offer. Winter Schnee is the top student in the Spec Ops officer program. She is one of, if not, _the_ most impressive recruit I've ever seen, that this school has ever seen. I need her by my side. War is coming and she is an officer, a Huntress, that I know will make a massive difference and could help us defeat whoever our enemy will be. I need you to disappear, go AWOL and leave her here. If you don't I will make her life hell, I will put her through the hardest missions with no intel and by God if need be I will drag her name through the mud… How would her family react to you? How would her father react to his daughter dating such a commoner? I am not going to let a brilliant soldier like her walk away because of a soldier like you."

Acadian sat back in his chair, a look of shock on his face as he ran a hand along his jaw. After a minute he took a deep breath, looked at Ironwood and stood up, stepping close to him to try and intimidate him.

"Go to hell Ironwood," he said with pure anger, Ironwood not showing any hint of cowering to the private.

"I believe your girlfriend is already there," he said, Acadian's eyes going wide. As if on que sounds from the engines of a Bullhead raced past the window. Acadian saw the shadow and his breathing quickened, the hatred in him growing. Before Ironwood could say another word Acadian slugged him with a hard right, stumbling the general to his right as Acadian ran out the office and toward the heli-pad. His feet slammed onto the ground as he pushed by students who were looking at the Bullhead that was surrounded by medical personnel.

Acadian tried to push by a few of them before truly taking in the chaos around him: a blood transfusion on one officer while another was getting bandaged. A third officer was getting stitches while Winter was having her chest taped, her face contorting in pain as she was put on a stretcher.

"Winter!" Acadian yelled and moved passed personnel to her, holding her hand, "The hell happened?"

"I…" she said, her face still showing pain as a hand rested on her ribs, "We got jumped by Grimm. Don't know where they came from… I'm okay Acadian," she said with a pained smile to Acadian, who had tears welling in his eyes. He nodded and patted her hand, knowing he couldn't kiss her even though he wanted to so badly. She was wheeled away and medics moved around Acadian, who had tears trailing down his cheeks as Ironwood's threat came back to his mind.

"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry Winter," he said, hanging his head as he left the panicked scene slowly. He entered his dorm room knowing that the rest of his team was in class and grabbed two bags from under his bed, packing clothing and small mementos. Acadian slipped out and walked to the armory, where a single guard stood at attention.

"Hey Acadian," the guard said with a smile, nodding at the Hunter as he spoke.

"Hey Ben."

"What brings you around? And what's with the bags?"

"Parents are coming to grab some things for me, got too much stuff in my dorm, you know?"

"God do I," Ben said, shaking his head, "Need to take from frustration out?"

"Oh yeah," Acadian said, setting his bags down next to the guard and walking inside the armory. It was filled to the brim with new and current weapons along with a firing range. Students could come in any time to use any weapon but had to return the weapon before they left to make sure no tragedies could happen at the Academy, which was also why they had guards stationed there at all times and the doors were lined with alarms. Acadian took a deep breath and grabbed an assault rifle along with eight clips before moving back to the door. He nodded to himself before bursting through the door and hitting Ben in the side of the head with the butt of the rifle, knocking the guard out cold.

"Sorry Ben," Acadian said, alarms blaring through the campus as he slung his bags over his shoulders and took off for the helipad. He knocked out another guard with a flying punch and clambered onto a Bullhead, aiming his rifle and cocking it at the pilot that was doing standard checks.

"Take off now!" he yelled and the pilot did as he was told without hesitation, the Bullhead lifting off as guards aimed their rifles but didn't fire for fear of hurting the pilot. Acadian looked out one of the bay doors and saw his teammates, the three looking at him with confusion and anger. He looked much further behind and saw a hunched over figure in a mixture of white, grey and light blue along with bandages. Tears rolled down his cheeks as Winter watched the Bullhead take off, labored breathing coming from her along with screams of agony mixed with tears as doctors ran to her and started to help her up, which she shrugged off immediately.

"W-where to?" the pilot asked nervously. Acadian thought for a minute before looking out past the bustling capital and at the vast ocean that they would soon be crossing.

"Mistral."

* * *

 **Hey I'm alive, somehow. I wanna take this time to apologize because I know it sucks when people can't stay committed to a plan that was laid out literally months ago. Again, big apologizes, won't happen again. Here's why I wasn't able to update properly: got a job at a bank and after two weeks I had to work 104 hours in two weeks, which just killed me. That combined with ongoing problems with my family and I celebrated six years with my fiancee, my life has been insane and even more so because I quit the bank job and got a new job.**

 **So, there's all that. I know this chapter may not have the best dialogue, details, etc. and if you want to critique me for it go ahead, I deserve it. For me though, I personally saw this chapter as the hardest part for Acadian to talk about, so it would make sense for him to skim on details. At the same time, that's a bullshit excuse and I know it is. Hope you guys can forgive me for being gone so long, again big apologies. Thank you all so much for reading and sticking around, I really greatly appreciate it. Much love guys and I'll be back next Sunday, I promise! (Oh and I deleted the original chapter 19 that was the update because there's no need to keep it around.)**


	20. Rebuilding

Chapter 20

"We landed in Mistral and I never heard anything from the Atlas army or Ironwood again. I tried my damnest to get in contact with Winter and my team but they never responded to my calls or texts. For the next two years I was a complete mess… I just couldn't comprehend everything that had happened. My social life, my dream, my plans, all gone in the matter of an hour thanks to that son of a bitch Ironwood. To cope, I took on the hardest hunts, hunts that were meant for 4-man teams because, well, I just wanted to die… I wanted to die doing what I did best. Thankfully Qrow found me one year after everything and told me that some people had been watching me and wanted to recruit me into a special group. I, at first, declined but Qrow… well, Qrow must've seen something in me because he got me a professorship at Haven a year later. After that I sorta joined that group, Qrow filled me in on just the basics, and here I am two years later."

Time had flown for the assembled group, the teenagers listening intently to their elder friend as he recanted in detail his time at Atlas. His voice, like his tale, had ebbed and flowed, from high peaks met with chuckles and smiles to valley's, a sense of depression accompanying his tone. They looked at each other, none knowing what to say until Ren spoke up.

"So how come you didn't see Winter or your team?"

"I figured that since they didn't return my calls, why would they want to see me? Hell I couldn't see Winter because I thought I was considered a fugitive of the Atlas army. If they saw me, I had a good feeling I would either be arrested or shot on sight."

"Good point," Jaune said, sitting up and hanging his legs off the side of the bed.

"Any questions?" Acadian asked while putting his chord necklace on.

"What about you and my sister? Are you two going to try again?"

"I doubt it Weiss," Acadian said, his eyes flicking to the floor before looking at the group.

"So why the hell are your teammates helping the enemy?" Yang asked.

"That's a question I've thought on myself for the past couple of months. Honestly, I have no clue. I remember hearing about a team that had tried to pull a heist but the article never specified who it was."

"You think it was them?" Jaune asked.

"Wouldn't be shocked. Those three were close and with Crimson leading them and wanting to do whatever it took to be famous… hell, I wouldn't put it past them."

"Did all this at least help?" Ruby asked. Acadian brought a hand to his chin, rubbing it a few seconds before flashing a smile at the young leader.

"Yeah, it did," he replied, she and the teams sharing just a bit of joy with flashes of smiles on their faces to the elder Huntsman, "Well, that's that. I need to go on a walk, I'll see you guys in the morning," Acadian said, walking past them and giving a few hugs before walking out the room. He felt conflicted about everything: happy he could finally get all of that off his chest yet recounting it depressed him at the same time, especially having to relieve that final day in such detail. He knew a good walk would help him clear his head and help him re-focus; Qrow needed help on what to do next and he wanted to make sure Qrow could count on him.

"I'm surprised you still have the necklace," he heard behind him after leaving the infirmary, turning to see the woman of his admiration.

"Winter," he said quietly, the Spec Ops general leaning against the wall and then straightening out before walking over to him.

"Acadian," she said, nodding in acknowledgement.

"What brings you around?"

"I was looking for my sister. Professor Goodwytch told me that she saw her enter here and then a little later her friends did as well. Walked inside and I didn't want to interrupt."

"How much did you hear?"

"From the Simulator onward."

"Oh," Acadian said, scratching the back of his head and looking in her eyes, "I take it-"

"Just answer me this Acadian: was it all true? Was every word true?" she asked sincerely. Acadian looked at her with shock, not expecting the question and seeing a light at the end of an arduous, four-year long tunnel.

"You have my word that ever story in there was the honest truth. I know my word may not mean much considering the circumstances, but I swear Winter that is what happened. I didn't want to leave you; you were… you are my everything. But I would be damned if I was the reason why you were getting hurt mission after mission," he said, never breaking his gaze from her eyes, his voice shaking at the opportunity that was given to him. Winter stared back impassively, making Acadian extremely nervous, which only grew as she took a half step forward and spoke in a low voice so only he could hear.

"The night of the attack on the CCT… I said that it's been hard without you, that I don't want to be alone anymore but I don't want to do anything yet until I know the full truth, I hope you understand."

"I do."

"Thank you."

"Of course… you know, I'm shocked that you still had the photo of us from the carnival."

"Why would I get rid of a reminder of the happiest night of my life?" Winter asked, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. Acadian's heart nearly broke at her words, his guilt coming full circle, a small gasp escaping his lips followed by a wave of sorrow. His breathing tightened and Winter enveloped him in her arms, taking a knee because Acadian nearly collapsed in anguish as he let out four years of pain and dejection, tears blurring his vision along with the white coat that Winter wore. Winter cooed into his ear, thankful that no one was out at such a late hour as her shoulder became progressively damp. Winter petted the back of his head and continued to coo into his ear, Acadian slowly but surely calming down. He gently pushed off her and wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt, heavily embarrassed at what had transpired.

"I'm s-sorry, I just-"

"No, I should be the one apologizing," Winter said, being helped up by Acadian, the two now inches from each other, "I shouldn't have said it like that, I should've known you would've had such a strong response."

"It's okay Winter."

"It's not Acadian."

"Look I said-"

"And I'm saying…" she said, her voice drifting off, the two sharing a slight chuckle before Winter took a step back.

"I just need a bit of space Acadian… it's a lot to digest, you know?"

"I-I know, I understand," he said, still wiping his eyes, "J-Just, when you make a decision, come get me, please."

"I will."

"Good. Until then," he said with a smile to her, which she returned with her own.

"Until then. Good night Acadian," she said. With those words Winter now had time not only to contemplate but to go and question certain people, mainly Ironwood. However, she couldn't do any of those things because Acadian hadn't moved, looking at the ground with a smile on his face, perplexing her. She took a step forward to confront him and was met with something she hadn't felt in years: his lips on hers. Her reaction even surprised herself as she didn't pull away, look at him in anger, bite his lip or anything of the sort. Rather she embraced the moment, feeling his hands come to her cheeks and she placed her hands on his hips. He broke the kiss and looked at her with genuine love, something she thought she would never see again.

"Sorry," he said quietly, Winter smiling at him as he removed his hands from her face, "I'm gonna go on a walk. I'll see you around."

"See you around," Winter said to Acadian, who walked away slowly, not wanting his gaze to leave hers. Winter waited until leaving, taking in the moment and everything that had happened over the past couple of hours before heading to the makeshift barracks. Meanwhile, neither of the two had noticed the teens peering out through the windows on the doors, watching the unfolding moments with great interest.

"Not going to try again huh?" Blake asked, the group chuckling at the comment.

"Wow," Nora said with an excited smile before looking at Weiss, "Looks like Acadian may be joining your family."

"Maybe," Weiss said, happy for her sister more than anything else.

* * *

Winter made her way into the barracks past saluting soldiers, her stern look returning to her face as she made her way into the center. The middle of the barracks had become the epi-center for intelligence gathering and for commanding various efforts to re-establish the tower and Vale itself. A few soldiers were looking at various computer screens, in constant communication with each other, but she wasn't focused on them. Rather, she walked over to the man in charge of them all.

"General Ironwood," Winter spoke, standing at attention with a salute, waiting for him to respond. He turned with a smile and saluted back.

"At ease Schnee. Surprised you're up."

"Had to go for a walk and think on a few things."

"Like what?" Ironwood asked. Winter looked around the room, the soldiers busy at their computers while Ironwood himself was standing in front of a makeshift desk with a computer that displayed various videos, windows and reports.

"It's okay Winter, you can say it here."

"Permission to speak freely sir?"

"Granted."

"It's about Acadian," she said, Ironwood's hand going to his temple and rubbing it as a response, knowing where this conversation was going to go.

"Continue."

"Just be honest with me General, what happened with Acadian at the Academy?"

"Winter, that has no bearing-"

"It has bearing to me," she snapped, her tone and attitude insulting Ironwood.

"How dare you-"

"And how dare you," she stepped forward, her eyes glaring at the general, who was taken aback by her, "Take away the man I love, have me go on hellish missions and destroy my social life? All in the pursuit of the perfect soldier? Of the perfect, obedient, never talk-back soldier that does as she is told?"

"I did all that to protect Remnant."

"And how well did that go here in Vale… General?" she asked, Ironwood's body stiffening at the remark, his temperature rising as he tried to contain the anger that was erupting in him.

"Get out of my sight Schnee," he said, turning back to his computer and looking over a report. Winter stood still for a minute, her ego getting the best of her as she relished in the victory before she composed herself.

"Thank you for conforming his story for me sir. My request for discharge papers will be on your desk first thing in the morning," and with those words Winter departed the fuming general, who slammed his fist on the table after she left the room. A few soldiers looked but were met with a deathly stare that made them return to their work instantly.

* * *

Three weeks passed and the CCT was practically rebuilt and back at full power. Life had returned to the streets of Vale and students stranded after the Vytal tournament were either reunited with their parents or parents learned about their tragic end. Teams RWBY and JNR had been spending a lot of time with each other and with Jaune fully healed training a lot too. Acadian, Qrow and Winter had been helping them train, trying to sharpen any skills, answer questions and get them used to the idea of having to kill if need be.

Even though Winter still had not made up her mind, she and Acadian were spending time together every day whenever they could, especially since her time with the Atlas army was nearly done. Even though Ironwood was extremely reluctant to sign Winter's discharge papers, he did sign them because of her threat to simply abandon him and the army. The two came to an agreement that once the immediate threat was taken care of she would be honorably discharged and in the meantime she would be treated as an adviser, giving her more freedom. With the extra freedom came more time, such as the lunch date she was on now with Acadian, even though it was mainly for business.

"Anything new from Qrow?" Acadian asked, grabbing his glass and take a swig of water.

"No. He, Glynda and Ironwood are working on a way to try and track their movements."

"Like hell they can track them."

"Couldn't agree more," Winter said, taking a bite of her grilled chicken. The two of them were sitting inside a small restaurant in the heart of Vale, enjoying the beautiful weather that mixed with the crowds of people and swarm of cars that once again inhabited the capital.

"You chatted with Ironwood much?"

"No and don't plan to unless it is absolutely necessary," she said, taking another bite as Acadian ate some of his salad. He sighed in content and slid his leg forward slowly, rubbing his foot against her leg. Winter jumped a bit then looked under the table before looking at Acadian in pure annoyance.

"Really?"

"Problem?" he asked with a cocked eyebrow, Winter rolling her eyes at him. The love between the two had only grown since they reconciled and even though Winter hadn't given him an official answer both knew where their relationship was going.

"Eat your damn food you child," she said, Acadian looking at her in shock.

"Wow, last time you cursed at me was when we were in your be-OW!" Acadian yelled, feeling a solid kick to his shin, causing fellow patrons to look at the two, embarrassing Winter. He pulled his leg up and rubbed the spot, groaning in pain and giving Winter a deathly look.

"You deserved that."

"Did not."

"Can you stop acting like a child?"

"Bad time to interrupt?" the two heard from their side and looked to see Qrow, who pulled up a seat and grinned at them.

"Hello Qrow," Acadian said with a smile and a pat to Qrow's shoulder.

"Qrow."

"Icequeen. Seemed like things were becoming violent."

"Blame your friend, not me."

"Hey!"

"Shut it," Qrow said, shaking his head as he leaned forward, ran a hand through his hair and took a swig form his flask, "I think we have something."

"Oh really?"

"Yes Icequeen, we do," Qrow said, further annoying Winter, "Come with me, it needs to be discussed in private."

Acadian shrugged and ate a few more leaves of lettuce before getting up while Winter finished her chicken. Both stood and as if on cue both took out a lien card and laid it on the table, the two looking at each other for a split second before Acadian grabbed hers and held it out to her.

"Oh don't start," she said.

"Oh God please don't," Qrow added, rubbing his forehead and standing up, returning the chair to its place.

"Let me pay Winter, it's fine, really."

"No. I can pay for myself."

"Winter, come on-"

"No seriously come on," Qrow said, walking away and shaking his head. Winter looked at Acadian with stern eyes that he could stare at for days until she snatched her lien, turned and walked away. Acadian giggled to himself as they followed their acquaintance to the CCT, which was bustling with activity. The three walked in, Winter and Acadian looking over the inside, taking in the same modern look that it had held for years prior to the attack on Beacon. The three strode to the only elevator that went to the very top and entered, departing to the sight of Glynda and Ironwood looking over plans at an intricate desk, interlaced with gears that Acadian assumed was headmaster Ozpin's; how it was repaired was beyond him. The two at the desk turned to the three, Glynda showing a bit more happiness then Ironwood, who looked at the two with disdain.

"Good to see you Professor Goodwytch," Acadian said, receiving a similar greeting before turning to Ironwood, "Fuckface."

"General Schnee," Ironwood said to his fellow solider, ignoring Acadian completely while Winter gave a simple response to Ironwood. Qrow looked at them, shaking his head before standing before all of them on the other side of the desk.

"What's the plan?" Acadian asked.

"Well to start," Glynda began, "We've determined that, somehow, they can track our movements or at least are able to predict our next move. Like in Mistral and here in Vale, your old team has been able to get the jump on you. We think it's because we were going for the obvious action."

"Okay and?"

"And," Ironwood said, looking at Acadian, "that means we need to try and be unpredictable, we need to do something that would be perceived as spontaneous, such as going on the offensive."

"How would we do that?" Winter asked, Qrow taking a swig from his flask because he knew she was not going to like this.

"We send Acadian on what seems like a suicide mission," Ironwood said, Winter looking at him in disbelief.

"Gee, thanks Ironwood," Acadian said, shaking his head as Winter stormed over to him, speaking before she could get in his face.

"What the hell do you mean a suicide mission? What would he be doing?"

"Attacking the White Fang," Qrow spoke up, trying to ease her tension, "I've had conversations with team RWBY and Blake Belladonna confirmed that the White Fang are working with certain humans. There is a chance that maybe Cinder and her cohorts let them in on what was happening and they took advantage that night. Attack the White Fang and surely they'll come to their defense."

"And what is Acadian supposed to do?"

"He won't be alone Winter," Glynda replied, "You and the student teams will be lying in wait."

"The only problem though is that their leader, Adam Taurus, did major damage to Yang if you guys remember," Acadian spoke up, "He's not afraid to kill and, to be frank, I'm not in the mood to die."

"You have something better?" Ironwood asked. Acadian fell silent at the remark before moving over to Winter and thought on a new plan while she looked over various reports on enemy movements they were tracking

"What if we brought the fight to them?"

"How would we do that?" Glynda asked, "They move as they please."

"Agreed. I remember when I saved Acadian one of them used a black and red portal-"

"Black and red portal?" Qrow asked, cutting Winter off, the four turning to him as he looked down.

"What?"

"That means they're using magic. That's something only a maiden could do."

"Maiden? From the fairy tales?" Winter asked, confused.

"So then how the hell are they doing it?" Acadian asked, ignoring Winter's question. Before Qrow could answer they heard the only elevator that came to their floor move behind them, the sound of it climbing worrying the five. Acadian drew his sword and stood in front of Winter, who did not have her blade, ready for anything to happen. The elevator wrenched to a halt, Acadian calming himself with deep breaths, ready for anything.

The door opened and out stepped a man with silver hair and small black sunglasses that rested on the bridge of his nose. His brown eyes gazed upon the room and he strode forward in an ensemble of black boots, slacks, vest, and a green long sleeve shirt with a matching scarf that was pinned with a silver cross so it wouldn't fall from his neck. The three elder members and Winter looked at the man in shock while Acadian, who couldn't see their faces, took a step forward, his blade pointed outward and at the man, who chuckled.

"Glad to finally meet you Mr. Zaffre," he said in a calm deep voice. Acadian looked at him with interest, cocking his head to one side. He was a man that Acadian had never met but he seemed to have such a familiar feeling, as though they had known each other for years.

"Oz," Qrow said breathlessly, Acadian's face lighting up at the man when Qrow spoke his name. He sheathed his blade and walked over to him, his hand held out.

"Glad to finally meet you Headmaster Ozpin."

* * *

 **Hey look at that the chapter is on time! Thank goodness! Again shout out to you guys for having the utmost patience with me, I so very greatly appreciate it, I really do. I hope you guys like how the chapter and the story itself has progressed and I'll be back next Sunday with Chapter 21. Love you guys just for reading! Have a good week and if you really dig the story fav, follow or review! Thanks!**


	21. The Bitter End

**Man, this is hard to say and to do, it really is because I'm not a quitter when it comes to stories or characters. But, I've been giving a lot of thought to certain things over the past week and I realize that I don't want to finish Absolution. Mainly because I just want to start my own projects, not ones based on another property. And that sucks in a way because at first I was so pumped to write this story and to finish it. But I realize now that is why I struggled to write so much in August when I had a lot of time: I wanted to start my own stories. It doubly sucks too because I really wanted to finish Absolution, I had awesome fight scenes planned and all that jazz but I just don't have the motivation to write them. I wanted to go out with a bang but instead I'm going out on a whimper and I'm sorry.**

 **And I apologize for that. I really wanted to finish but I cannot bring myself to do it. Thankfully I have everything planned out, so I'm gonna give you the rest of the story beats for Absolution:**

 **Acadian and Winter would be told the story of the maidens and be told as well that Salem is a maiden. They get ready while the villains mobilize as well, everyone heading to the swamps of Northern Vacuo to get Raven Branwen. Along the way Acadian and Winter completely rekindle their relationship, which is good because when they land they are ambushed by the villains and the White Fang. Acadain is separated from the group and fights Nadia one-on-one, killing her in the end. He returns to see Adam Taurus and Mercury either killed or arrested, I couldn't decide, but I was leaning towards Adam dying and Mercury being arrested. They get Raven after a lot of convincing and prepare for one last fight. Acadian and Winter would've fully re-kindled their relationship, aka banged it out, before the final fight, which would've seen them entering Salem's plain and fighting Grimm and the other villains. Yura would die by Acadian and Winter's blades while team RWBY fought off the other villains. The last scene was going to be Cinder about to kill Weiss but was shot three times by Ruby or Blake, transferring the powers to one of them (Not Weiss though because if I remember correctly from the lore the person who killed the maiden got their powers or it just went to the next female that was of a young age). Salem would retreat with Neo and Crimson, vowing to have revenge.** **Time skip about a year and, more or less, Glynda is the new headmaster since Ozpin decided to step down and walk the earth, Qrow is her assistant like how he assisted Ozpin, Acadian the new combat teacher and Winter (couldn't decide if she would be two months pregnant or not) a special military adviser since Beacon would start a ROTC like program. The students make it to class where Acadian introduces himself and the story would end there, leaving it open ended concerning the villains but closed enough for the heroes.**

 **Apologies for getting this out today, I live on the peninsula in Virginia and Matthew took out my power Sunday and Monday. Apologies for not finishing this story and apologies for the lack of communication. But most of all, thank you. I know it sucks and isn't fair that I'm doing this and I'm sorry, I really am. Do I wish I had done things a lot better in my stories? Fuck yeah. Do I regret any of my stories? Not at all. Thank you all for the support, reviews, favs, follows and even for looking at one chapter over the past two years. It honestly meant the world to me and I can't wait for what life has for me. I'm super excited for the rest of RWBY and can't wait to see how it goes. But again, thank you guys, I wouldn't have done all this without your support. I will always owe you guys that, especially since it got my writing confidence up so much. I love you guys. Thank you.**

 **Sincerely,**

 **Zachary Piggott**


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